Pro Sports Face Ethical Quandaries
MEDIA NEWS SOURCE: Nicholas Dixon, Sports Ethics
Nicholas Dixon, professor of philosophy at Alma College and former
president of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport,
is available to respond to media questions regarding ethical quandaries
in sports.
America’s top three professional sports — football, basketball and baseball — are each operating under ethical clouds:
• In the National Football League, Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick has been indicted for suspected involvement in a dog-fighting ring.
• National Basketball Association referee Tim Donaghy has been indicted for betting on games in which he officiated.
•
Major League Baseball is puzzling over how to observe the upcoming
breaking of Hank Aaron’s home run record by Barry Bonds, who is
entangled in an investigation over steroid use.
Professor Dixon can comment on these and other ethical dilemmas in
professional sports. He is a former editor of the international Journal of the Philosophy of Sport and former president of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport.
“Millionaire athletes often are surrounded by ‘yes men’ who tell them
that everything they do is okay,” says Dixon. “ It’s hard for some of
these professional athletes to understand that laws and ethical
restraint also apply to them.
“To be fair, it’s still a small number of athletes statistically who
cross ethical and moral lines. But they are famous and in the public’s
eye,” he says.
Dixon has shared views on sportsmanship and sports ethics at
sports-related national and international forums. Typical moral issues
in which Dixon can comment include the nature of competition, the role
of sport in education, sportsmanship, performance-enhancing drugs,
violence in sport, morality of dangerous sports, hunting and gun
control, and gender equity. In addition to the philosophy of sport, he
specializes in applied ethics, social philosophy, virtue ethics,
philosophy of law and medical ethics.
To contact Dixon, call the Alma College Public Relations Office at (989) 463-7327 or email Mike Silverthorn at silverthorn@alma.edu.
-mjs-
Posted: Wed, July 25th, 2007 at 1:27PM
