That's Not How You Play the Game! Three Well-Known (and One Not So Well-Known) Unwritten Ethical Rules of Sport
by Brett Gaul
, Southwest Minnesota State University
This presentation analyzes three well-known (and one not so well-known) unwritten ethical rules of sport by focusing on recent cases from baseball, football, basketball, and cycling where these rules have allegedly been broken. The four rules I will discuss are: (1) Don’t bunt to break up a no-hitter; (2) Don’t play too aggressively in an exhibition or a blowout; (3) Don’t take advantage of your opponent’s bad luck, bathroom breaks, or injuries; and (4) Don’t cross the pitcher’s mound. I argue that the concept of respect seems central to these unwritten ethical rules of sport. When players violate these unwritten ethical rules of sport, then, their actions are wrong because they are disrespectful, and such players can rightly be called out for exhibiting poor sportsmanship. Nevertheless, these rules are not absolute. Because the goal of competitive sports is to win, there are times in athletic events when some of these unwritten ethical rules do not apply. Players who violate these rules at these times do nothing wrong.
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