Good Governance Seminar
Ethics in Sports & Sport Management
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Address
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Sports
Gortanova 22
SI-1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Contact
Phone: +386 1 5892 521
Email: matej.tusak@fsp.uni-lj.si
Web: http://www.matejtusak.si
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
SPORT IN MODERN WORLD
The subject of sport psychology has been lately focused also on
ethical behavior, fair play and morality.
Even though sport psychology and kinesiology provided many different concepts which helped to develop
mature and emotional stable athletes throughout the history the elite sport has reached a level where pressure
from all stakeholders deeply affects the athletes, other individuals and thus the whole sport ecosystem as a
whole.
New policies should be developed or reshaped to the new circumstances in order to avoid athletes from falling
into different types of personal crisis and also enabling sport to develop in a way to follow its cause and principles.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
ATHLETES AS A ROLE MODELS
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
ATHLETES CHOOSE SHORTCUTS WHICH ARE SOMETIMES
ILLEGAL, MORALY UNACCEPTABLE AND NON-ETHICAL,
BAD FOR SPORT, MANY TIMES ALSO VERY UNHEALTHY.
 Sport managers as a role model, a leader, a key factor, and a father in sport.
 Coach‘s and sport managers‘ maladaptive behaviors:
 Doping in sport
 Cheating in sport
 Sexual harassment of athletes
 Developing over aggressiveness
 Developing social unacceptable norms and behavior,
 Emphasizing specific disease and illness and unfair play
 Developing the role of BAD GUY in sport
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
BAD AND SAD STORIES IN SPORT [DOPING]
Marion Jones
Marco Pantani
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
OVERAGRESIVENESS
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
PSYCHOLOGY – MIND
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
KEY THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES
 From Theory To Practice (Dilemmas)
 Sport As A Process (Basic Concepts; Armstrong)
 Fair Play, Cheating, Ethics, Morality, Learning Process
 Questions & Dilemmas Instead Of Answers
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
ETHICS IN SPORT
Ethics comes from Greek word ethos, which means character or human
dispositions or science about morality. Ethics answer basic questions
on what is good and bad, right and wrong. It plays important role by
forming process of values in society (sport society).
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
MORALITY IN SPORT
It comes out of Latin word moralis, mos, which is connected to personal
habits and way of life. It is also connected to what is right and wrong,
bad or good according to the purpose, motives, intention, act or
character of people,
who do this behavior.
Tušak, Tušak, 2003
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
THEORY & PRACTICE
Moral decision in real life situation
The modern theory of evolution emphasizes that the basic function of
morality is to sustain cooperative relations among people.

Is it possible to combine morality and top sport?

Freud, egoistic child
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
MORAL JUDGEMENT IN SPORT
It affects actions on sport courts and outside
It affects fair play (equal chances for all)
The decision what is right or wrong depends on

what we know about play, other feelings, our values, attitudes and other's expectations;

how we value: the winning and advantage, love to play, us, others, competitions…

what we decide to do,

how we act according to our decision…
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
FAIR PLAY AS A PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
SPORT PARTICIPANTS

RESPECT OF THE PHYSICAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTACT between participants,

CONCERNS ABOUT THEIR OWN AND OPPONENT HEALTH

EFFORTS FOR ACHIEVING SUCCESS AND HIGHER STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE (downhill)

ACCEPTING RULES AND JUDGES‘S DECISIONS

DEVELOPMENT OF SELF CONTROL by winning, losing, sociability and awareness of other's players
interests
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
FAIR PLAY AS A CONCERN OF SPORT ORGANISATIONS
THROUGH RULES

FORMING RULES (attractiveness of sport, OG-norms, body mass, etc.)

CREATING COMPETITIONS where everybody has a chance (ski jumping, gymnastics)

CONTROLLING TRAINING & COMPETITION CONDITIONS with equal chances for everyone (ski
jumping)

DEVELOPING ACTIVITIES & PROGRAMS suitable for all (Olympic and Paralympic),

CONTROLLING COMMERCIAL & POLITICAL INFLUENCES which impact justice of possibilities
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
TONYA HARDING TAKES A HIT OUT
ON NANCY KERRIGAN
Tonya Harding was the 1991 US figure skating champion and only the second woman to ever land
a triple axel in competition. She became just a touch more famous in 1994, when her ex-husband
hit Nancy Kerrigan in the knee, leading to one of the more pathetic moments in sports history.
Incredibly, Harding still was allowed to compete in the 1994 Olympics after it was found that she
had conspired with her ex-husband to attack Kerrigan. The US Olympic Committee tried to bar her
from competition, but relented when she threatened legal action. She eventually received a large
fine and community service for the attack, and eventually revealed herself to be a complete hillbilly,
competing in female boxing, gaining a tremendous amount of weight, and releasing a sex tape that
has been rumored to cause blindness.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
SPANISH PARALYMPIANS PLAY
A MEAN TRICK
2000 Paralympics saw the basketball team from Spain take the gold medal in the
“intellectual disability” category. Carlos Ribagorda, an undercover journalist,
revealed that the players on Spain’s team had not actually undergone the testing
required to prove mental deficiency. It turned out that ten of the twelve players on
the Spain basketball team were perfectly normal.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
DORA OR HERMANN?
Dora Ratjen was a German athlete who competed in the 1936 Olympics in the High Jump.
Not much of a story really, except for one thing: Dora was actually Hermann, a man who
was coerced by the Hitler Youth into tightly binding his genitals and competing against
women. The German Olympic team struggled in the previous Olympic games, and so it
was thought entering a man here and there on the women’s side of things might remedy
the situation. But German men couldn’t even beat the women of other countries, as Ratjen
finished fourth, failing to medal.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
THE HAND OF GOD
Easily one of the most famous plays in sports history, Diego Maradona’s goal came six
minutes into the second half of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between England and
Argentina. Maradona punched the ball into the goal with his left hand, and referee Ali Bin
Nasser allowed it, not having seen the penalty.
After the game and the 2-1 Argentinian victory came Maradona’s famous quote claiming
that the goal was scored “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de
Dios” (a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God). The famous
photograph you see above shows that the goal was actually scored mostly with the hand
of Maradona.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
ROSIE RUIZ
Rosie Ruiz is probably the most famous marathon cheat of all time. Ruiz “won” the 1980
Boston Marathon in a then record time of 2:31:56, but it was later discovered that she had
simply registered for the race and then jumped out of the crowd close to the finish line.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
TIM DONAGHY GAMBLING SCANDAL
Tim Donaghy is a former professional basketball referee who worked in the
National Basketball Association (NBA) for 13 seasons from 1994 to 2007. On
July 20, 2007, a report of an investigation by the FBI into allegations of an NBA
referee betting on games to control the point spread emerged by columnist
Murray Weiss of the New York Post. It was later revealed that Donaghy, who
has a gambling problem, placed tens of thousands of dollars in bets on games
during the 2005-06 NBA season and 2006-07 NBA season and had been
approached by lower level mob associates to work on a gambling scheme.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
THE 1919 CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Major League Baseball was a national institution in the early years of the 20th
century -- the All-American game -- and the best team in baseball was the
Chicago White Sox. But despite being heavily favored against the Cincinnati
Reds, the Sox lost to the Reds in eight games in the then best-of-nine World
Series.
A grand jury later indicted eight White Sox players, including pitcher Eddie
Cicotte and outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who admitted that the team had
received money from gamblers to fix the series. A court later acquitted the
players of conspiracy to defraud the public, but baseball commissioner Kenesaw
Mountain Landis banned them for life
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
DOPING
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
SPORT AS A LEARNING PROCESS
Fair play is an expression for what sport should teach us – positive social
values through sport activity.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
EFFECTS OF EDUCATION THROUGH SPORTS
Fair play is an expression for what sport should teach us
– positive social values through sport activity.
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
EFFECTS OF EDUCATION THROUGH SPORTS

Development Of Work Habits (+)

Time Management (+)

Focus & Concentration for Work (+)

Coping With Winning, Losing & Glory (+)

Responsibility, Inactivity, Autonomy, Patience (+)

Goals & Activities Together For Family (+)

General Education Problems (-)

High Achievement Orientation (+/-)

Less General Interests (-)

Competitiveness, Aggressiveness, Egoism (+/-)
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
MENTAL HEALTH & DEVELOPMENT
OF HEALTHY PERSONALITY
Life Today

A lack of free time

Stressful life

Work & competition

Achievement orientation

Success for any price

No game & fun

A lack of balance

Passive way
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
DO WE WANT THAT?
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
COACH AS A TEACHER, A ROLE MODEL
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
BAD CASE 1: UNNACEPTABLE COACH BEHAVIOR
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
BAD CASE 2: UNNACEPTABLE COACH BEHAVIOR
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
BAD CASE 3: UNNACEPTABLE COACH BEHAVIOR
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
BAD CASE 4: UNNACEPTABLE COACH BEHAVIOR
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
BAD CASE 5 UNNACEPTABLE PLAYER, REFEREE, COACH
BEHAVIOR
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
GOOD CASES
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
GOOD CASE: PETRA MAJDIC

Olympic winter games Vancouver 2010

Cross country skiing Woman Sprint

Clear favorite for golden medal: the best sprinter in Cross
Country for the last 3 seasons

Her plan was three medals in OG Vancouver

She fell and got injured 10 minutes before the qualification
race: 5 Broken Ribs And Pneumothorax

Won Bronze Medal, 1.7 Sec After Gold Medal

Felt Down After Crossing Finish Line,

But She Managed To Get Her 1.Olympic Medal

Spent 6 Days In Hospital
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
GOOD CASE: PETRA MAJDIC
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
FAIR PLAY IN ELITE SPORT
Fair play in elite sport means to strictly respect formal rules and spreading
them into the sport behavior, which is based on respect to other competitors
and according to own health concerns and other's competitors interests.
Is it possible?
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
DIMENSIONS OF FAIR PLAY
 Group Of Skills
 A Game
 A Competition – A Fair Game And Competition
 Respecting Rules & Game
 A Contract
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
GOOD CASE: FAIR PLAY
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Ethics in Sport & Sport Management
DIRECTIONS IN FUTURE
 The Role Of Sport Organisations & Sport Managers
 The Role Of Coach – A Moral Teacher In Athlete‘s Career And Personal
Life
 The Role Of Top Athletes
Prof. Tomaž Čater, Ph.D.
Principles of Good Governance in Sport
Disclaimer
"The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not
constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein."
THANK YOU
Prof. Matej Tušak, Ph.D.
Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana