- What are three (3) examples of ethical decisions individuals have to make in the sports industry? Write out a
detailed explanation of each example. - Sarah was recently promoted to a managerial position with the Washington Redtails. With her new
position, she is now responsible for overseeing all of the ushers and front of house staff, meaning
approximately 50 workers now report to her. Although Sarah previously worked as an operations manager, she
does not have any experience running the front of house experience.
At the end of her first day, Sarah is confused to see her workers continuing to work well past the end of their
eight-hour shift. She then goes to the shift supervisor (who reports to her) to express concern because the
team does not have the budget to pay so many workers overtime. The supervisor smiles at Sarah and explains
that the team meets revenue goals by making the workers work off the clock. The workers are well aware of
this expectation and went along with it in order to keep their jobs. Sarah is shocked to learn this illegal practice
had become part of the company culture, but the supervisor explains that the company’s CEO (who is Sarah’s
boss) is well aware of this expectation.
How should Sarah handle the ethical dilemma? Explain the ethical dilemma, identify the stakeholders while
briefly writing-up how each one is impacted, and explain your solution.
- As the Athletic Director of Big State University, the person you hired as head men’s basketball coach is
an intense person and you liked that about him. He has a history of getting the best results out of players. The
new head coach wins lots of games and has brought several championships to Big State U. However, he puts
a lot of pressure on the team to train harder and often shows his disappointment when they don’t win in verbal
and physical ways. He is always reinforcing that “winning is everything” and “there are no prizes for second
place” and he can be quite abusive to his players if they haven’t performed up to expectations.
The team had a poor performance and the coach is in a bad mood. The next day, the coach made one player
run laps until he is physically sick and says to another that he “plays like a girl” implying a need to toughen up.
The team captain approaches you, the athletic director of the university, to complain because the players are
upset and considering quitting the sport.
Two Questions:
(A) How do you handle this ethical dilemma and including the complaint from the team captain?
(B) In addition, a local news reporter has asked for a statement, What would you write as brief media response
to the allegations against the person you hired as head coach? - You are the athletic director of a top academic and athletic university. Your women’s college basketball
coach is in the last year of his contract. He recruits a top-ranked high school player from the local area to save
his career. The coach thinks this athlete will not be academically successful at the university, but the coach is
certain that this player is the missing piece of the puzzle to get the basketball team to the NCAA tournament.
The NCAA Clearinghouse approves the student to register and sign a letter of intent, but your coach knows
that this athlete doesn’t quite meet the school’s rigorous academic standards. After two years on campus, it is
confirmed that the athlete cannot handle the curriculum nor the classes – primarily because the player reads at
a fourth-grade level. The player is dismissed from the program and the university president has asked that you
write a brief memo to your coaches about how this should be handled in the future.
Write a brief memo to the coaches about how to avoid this in the future. Be sure to explain what, if any, ethical
dilemmas are involved and what corrective steps can be taken to avoid this outcome in the future
