Loophole ethics in sports

Authors

  • Øyvind Kvalnes Dept. of Leadership and Organizational Management, BI Norwegian School of Management
  • Liv Hemmestad Telemark University College & Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sport

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5324/eip.v4i1.1740

Keywords:

sports coaching, ethics, leadership, phronesis, loopholes

Abstract

Ethical challenges in sports occur when the practitioners are caught between the will to win and the overall task of staying within the realm of acceptable values and virtues. One way to prepare for these challenges is to formulate comprehensive and specific rules of acceptable conduct. In this paper we will draw attention to one serious problem with such a rule-based approach. It may inadvertently encourage what we will call loophole ethics, an attitude where every action that is not explicitly defined as wrong, will be seen as a viable option. Detailed codes of conduct leave little room for personal judgement, and instead promote a loophole mentality. We argue that loophole ethics can be avoided by operating with only a limited set of general principles, thus leaving more space for personal judgement and wisdom.

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EiP 1/2010

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Published

2010-01-01

How to Cite

Kvalnes, Øyvind, & Hemmestad, L. (2010). Loophole ethics in sports. Etikk I Praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics, 4(1), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.5324/eip.v4i1.1740

Issue

No. 1 (2010)

Section

Artikler - Articles

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