Ethics and Top-Level Sport - A Paradox?

Abstract

The apparent crisis in top-level sport with its "winning-at-all-cost-mentality" stands in contrast to ethical and moral behavior. It is argued that the so-called "unethical" practices (i.e. doping, cheating, violence) are an expected outgrowth of top-level sport in modern society. Since sport is interwoven with the socio-cultural norms and values of a given society, generic sport ethics cannot help to solve the problems in top-level sport. Rather, codes of ethical conduct have to take into account the particular social and cultural framework.