Paper Example on Moral Relativism in Sport

Introduction

Discipline is one of the most important elements in sporting to ensure athletes maintain proper conduct. In the realm of unskilled and professional sports adherence to ethical conduct in the gaming codes of conduct ensures that players avoid cheating. Activity victory judgment does not only come from emerging the winning athlete but also upholding of ethical standards is paramount (Bruner, Dunlop, & Beauchamp, 2014). However, moral relativism identifies different acts as either right or wrong depending on the culture the act gets assessed. It is thus through relativism that sportsmen get away with certain unethical behaviors that are ethically unacceptable in reality. According to Leo Durocher following rules gives competitive losers better positioning in sports that cheating winners saying that "Nice guys finish last." This paper will explore behaviors in sports or competitions that fall under relativist scrutiny as well as identify the techniques, behaviors, and moral codes that are unethical in different scenarios showing the logic behind relativism when addressing moral reasoning.

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Examining sports and competition behaviors and activities through the relativist lens unearths indifferences on the moral and cultural ethical and unethical practices. For instance, critical ridicule of the players turns a blind eye though, in reality, it is ethically wrong to say nasty things to an opponent "athletes enjoy a remarkable range of freedom to act unethically within the framework of the rules" (Kosiewicz, 2014). Although professional sports and competitions ensure maintenance inherent link between individual player's development and strict adherence to the rules and regulates governing the sporting event in theory, the practical application of the rules overlooks certain lies and tricks perpetrated by individuals to ensure their holistic fitness for the competition. Intentional and unintentional violation of sporting rules and regulations by engaging in tactical and professional fouls compromises the sports ethics governing fair winning especially by using external practices to cheat the player's way in a game thus, "intrinsic nature of competition is immoral". Whenever the morality of the players' conduct intentionally or unintentionally violates the set of gaming rules the competition becomes unfairly won. Adherence to sports code of ethics provokes the relativism of the sporting practice and individualism.

Sports cheating with as simple acts like external motivational cues to winning gives one opponent an upper hand against his or her opponents creating a media-ethics of moral norms that are impossible to form an indisputable justification context of the behaviors or activities in line with the reinforced moral codes. Although morals and ethics are not universally acceptable to all cultural conduct in human diversity the religious and personal values tend to be compromised when one person does things that are inconsiderate of the other parties' rights, values, and believes (Moller, Waddington & Hoberman, 2015). In athletes, upholding fairness, respect, corporation, and adherence to rules are among the major behaviors and techniques used when illustrating proper conduct and morality among players. Set moral codes followed by both playing teams dictate the winning procedure and legality of any victory claims. Adapting compromising cultural practices and traditional idealists flit the social norms and ethics in meeting the competition and demands of sporting events especially professional gaming. The sporting objective and fundamental principles tramper with the remarkable role sporting and competition performs in the society whether professional or amateur.

Critics of relativism argue that behavior and activities cannot be standardized across all cultures and morality, therefore, not all things considered moral or ethical to one group apply to all. Typical examples of moral values and practices that contrast between sports and religion, on one side sporting activities demand square competitiveness while this universal requirement of sporting religious doctrines discourages the opposite. Enjoying the failure of your opponent is intentionally normal in competitions but, the moral ethics outside sports discourage the discerning values between confronting players. The zeal and agitation derived strong engagement in competitions require prior training and dedication to defeat your opponent at all cost provided one is within stipulated rules, however, social morality and interpersonal relationship condemn enticing perception of intentional plotting against others.

The ideological perceptions on win-at-all-costs culture have in recent days seen the ruin on ethical and moral standards of winning competitive games (Bruner, Boardley, Allan, Root, Buckham, Forrest, & Cote, 2016). At times, athletes, coaches, trainers, and administrators tend to side-step some rules at the higher level of sports ignoring certain rule violation by high-end athletes. Many professional players in different capacities have come up with tricks and mischiefs to sway their way up in sports competition position which is either intentional or not intended. The conducts may be known immediately or long after the tournament while others happen long after. Relativism has contributed over the years for different qualifications to suffer nullification when marries is found out later afterward have been unfairly won (Kavussanu & Boardley, 2012). Some performance enhancing drugs help people improve their performance in a wide array of areas, however, when this practice is performed by sportsmen it unethically gives them added advantages over their competitors. For instance, running athletes using energy drinks or other performance enhancement drugs are prompt to commit a doping offense. Fair competition requires all competitors to be without any enhancement drugs of energy boosting substances to validate their win. It is legally wrong for sportsmen to dope but, on separate incidences, it is ethical for a medical practitioner to recommend performance-boosting drugs to patients with certain weaknesses of the general body functionality.

The ambition that changes the sporting objective and fundamental principles tramper with the remarkable role sporting and competition performs in the society whether professional or amateur. In previous professional sports, certain scenarios have taken place depicting the difference thought of moral relativism ruining their reputations (Bruner et al., 2016). For instance, the Argentine Diego Maradona is considered the greatest soccer player by any football fans of all times, but during his 1986 "hand of God" he punched the ball back to the net though touching the ball by hand is prohibited in soccer, the referees and other determining officials passed blind eye to the act helping his team through that year's World Cup. Despite, the multiple considerations performed at that time caused everybody determine that the score was worthwhile based on his perennial excellence on the pitch in past years his handball cannot be justifiable professionally. Later in 1994 World Cup Maradona's questionable conduct was later attributed to drug and substance abuse of performance-enhancing drugs. This act cost him suspension from professional football but the earlier "Hand of God" brag emerged on critic beam. On a separate incidence in 1997, Mike Tyson in his fight with Evander Holyfield, when Tyson lost to Holyfield he bit his ear. Following the incidence, the fight was stopped temporarily and Tyson was penalized two points from his scores and the fight resumed. In this case, the referee bent the gaming rules and gave Tyson a chance owing to his personality prompting him to repeat it again but at more severe repercussions. Again, in 2007, Roger Clemens appeared in Mitchell Report on doping staining his many years reputation. His trainer Brian McNamee testified that throughout his career training he injected Clemens with steroids an act that belittled and questioned his winning abilities in the past. Although doping happens during the game times, investigating agencies are done long after questioning the credibility of the trends of professional sports and competitions (Walsh & Giulianotti, 2015).

Conclusion

In conclusion, moral relativism goes a long way to define the right and wrong conducts that are considered ethical or unethical. Although, trainers and coaches do not need to a witch-hunt for the acceptable and unacceptable behavior of players they are also responsible for players conduct. Sometimes when players evade game rules the determining factors of their winning ability is considered depending on different scenarios. Judging playing victory does not only come from emerging the winning athlete but also upholding of ethical standards is paramount. Moral values and practices that contrast between sports and religion, on one side sporting activities demand square competitiveness while this universal requirement of sporting religious doctrines discourages the opposite. However, moral relativism identifies different acts as either right or wrong depending on the culture the act gets assessed. It is thus through relativism that sportsmen get away with certain unethical behaviors that are ethically unacceptable in reality. In sports and competitions upholding fairness, corporation, respect, and adherence to rules are among the major behaviors and techniques used when illustrating proper conduct and morality among players. At certain instances when rules are bent the morality of the rewards are either disqualified or stained by a bad reputation.

References

Bruner, M.W., Boardley, I.D., Allan, V., Root, Z., Buckham, S., Forrest, C., & Cote, J. (2016). Examining social identity and intrateam moral behaviors in competitive youth ice hockey using stimulated recall. Journal of Sports Sciences. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2016.1243797.

Bruner, M. W., Dunlop, W., & Beauchamp, M. R. (2014). A social identity perspective on group processes in sport and exercise. In M. R. Beauchamp & M. A. Eys (Ed.), Group Dynamics in Exercise and Sports Psychology (2nd ed.), New York, NY: Routledge, pp38-52.

Kavussanu, M., & Boardley, I. D. (2012). Moral behavior. In G. Tenenbaum, R. J. Eklund, & A. Kamata (Eds.), Handbook of measurement in sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, pp.443-454.

Kosiewicz, J. (2014). Normative Ethics and Sport: A Moral Manifesto. Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, LXII, 5-22. DOI: 10.2478/pcssr-2014-0008.

Walsh, A. & Giulianotti, R. (2015) Ethics, Money, and Sport: This Sporting Mammon, London: Routledge.

Moller, V. Waddington, I. & Hoberman, J. (2015). Understanding Performance-Enhancing Substances and Sanctions Against their Use from the Perspective of History, London: Routledge Handbook of Drugs and Sports Routledge. Accessed on: 10 Jun 2018 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9780203795347.ch2