Business of Sports Ethics

1.5 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This class is designed to engage students in the disciplines of sports and business with a focus upon business law, leadership, ethics and executive decision-making. The course materials are designed to lay the groundwork of the relevant law and principles, while the emphasis will be on an engaged class discussion and debate to test the underlying philosophical issues that are present in every aspect of the business of sport. Students will be expected to enter the discussion with an understanding of the basic principles from the reading and utilize the classroom as the “testing ground” to understand, evaluate and critique the sports legal, economic and social landscape. Many professional and “amateur” sports derive revenue from a dedicated fan base, however beneath that simplistic surface are complex sets of legislative, state/local statutes, evolving jurisprudence and an equally complex set of ethical judgments that operate on a perpetual basis. Many of these factors operate without the appreciation, acknowledgement or perhaps even the understanding of most of the sports stakeholders–Owners, Coaches, Players, the Press, Media, Fans, Agents, Commercial Partners and Union leaders. This problem is worsened by the fact that most major sports systems are completely unregulated. They are not subject to “traditional” corporate or governmental regulations, there are no public filings, no public boards of directors, no transparency of operations and rarely, if ever, are there legal consequences for systemic misconduct. Worse, the average player/worker is typically: the youngest participant (and sometimes a minor), stays in the business the least amount of the time when compared to owners or leagues or other workers, are exposed to the most potential physical harm, and are often persons who may least understand the pervasive paradigm of these sports organizations. These issues are compounded by that fact that athletes have only a limited amount of agency given their short careers, and in some cases with respect to college, international and high school athletes, their status as minors. The seminar will consider and analyze the legal and ethical relationships among professional and amateur athletes, teams, leagues, governing bodies, and other actors. In particular, the course will provide a legal, factual, and historical analysis of how sports institutions have operated and engage students in an analysis of how they should operate with respect to accountability, oversight, and fairness and the forces and stakeholders which influence those decisions. The class is designed to be adversarial and to force students to develop the necessary skills of critical analysis, logical thought and presenting and defending arguments. In short, this is not a class for sports fans as much it is committed to building the skills that are necessary for leaders to evaluate social, political, and business constructs and to appreciate the inherent philosophical and ethical dilemmas. Students will be required to make and defend positions. Well-prepared and thoughtful student participation is mandatory.