Consequentialism In Sports Essay

Consequentialism has been around for many years and is the theory that actions are judged according to how they affect oneself or others, rather than on the principles or values upon which the actions are based (Schneider, 2009). This means that a person’s actions can be justified without considering the moral implications. Consequentialism is the moral theory that most people involved in sports tend to use, because they can always justify an action because it was done to try to win a game or get a competitive advantage. This was easier to do in the early years of sports, but in today’s world of the internet and 24 hours sports, it seems almost every move a coach, player, or owner makes is dissected and their morals and ethics are called into question. In the early 1900’s, baseball pitchers routinely doctored baseballs in order to make the ball move and become harder to hit. While this practice was illegal, pitchers knew that umpires rarely ever enforced the rule so they would scuff the ball to get out the hitters. They were able to justify this

This can sometimes be considered a selfish form of moral reasoning because a person is only thinking about himself or herself when making a choice of what to do. Years ago, most athletes did not use hedonistic thinking when playing. More times than not, a player would do whatever the coach asked of them if they thought it would help the team win because winning made them happy. In recent years, it seems that more and more athletes are becoming more hedonistic. A star player will demand a trade or for the coach to be fired because they do not agree with what the coach is doing even though it may be what is best for the team as a whole. Many players today seem to be happy making money and being a start rather than winning, so they will do whatever they need to in order to make that