On April 24th, 2014, one simple recording released by TMZ made Donald Sterling, owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, the most hated man in America. In this recording, Sterling ranted over the fact how he did not want V. Stiviano, his partner, to be affiliated with any African Americans. As a result of his racist statements, fans, athletes, and sports organizations/members, voiced their opinions on the matter, flourishing social media. Many star players such as LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and a majority the Clippers players acknowledged that something had to be done, and that the NBA is no place for racism. In the end, after team owners took a vote, NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a press conference enlightening the public …show more content…
For a man in his position, Sterling has the ability to be an influence, and enough money to effect communities around him. Hence he should not have put himself in a situation like this as it could hurt a lot of people. Therefore, the banning of Donald Sterling by the NBA, with the help of commissioner Adam Silver, the collective agreement of team owners, and the voice of the players, was ethically adequate since it delivered the best punishment possible. When it comes to the morality of a certain decision, one can turn to the Four Frameworks of Ethical Decision Making. Out of the four, the two that stand out in the Donald Sterling controversy are the Utilitarian Approach, and Ethical Realism. The Utilitarian Approach describes how a decision was made based off the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It also accounts for the least amount of harm, creating a decent balance between the good and bad. While the NBA deliberated their options, it was clear to them that something needed to be done and fast. In modern society, television and social media take problematic situations and …show more content…
It is clear that I am not the only one that believes so. A majority of NBA team owners voted in agreement for Adam Silver’s punishments and players across the league were satisfied as well. Banning him from the NBA may sound a bit too much, but in an era where racism in sports has not been an issue for decades, it is extremely disrespectful to bring a debacle like this back to the surface. Expressing ones opinion is allowed and there is nothing legally wrong with it, but what Sterling said is something that is not acceptable in today’s society, which is why the penalties were all, justified. Two of the four ethical frameworks, Utilitarianism and Ethical Realism both contribute to this understanding. The NBA made their decision for the greater good given the number of people involved. The choice was to either punish one man for his wrongdoing, or allow thousands of people across the country to question the integrity of the National Basketball Association. They also practiced choosing the lesser of two evils where the reprimand given was a bit exaggerated but necessary considering the alternative. Overall, the banning of Donald Sterling by the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver, team owners, and the players, was an ethically suitable price to pay for such callous
Even though athletes get special treatment they never think about how them getting off easy can back fire. The Ray Rice case is a prime example of how it was a downfall in their career. Rice got released from the Baltimore ravens and since then he has not play football. The NFL suspended him indefinitely, but it was later lifted because he did not lie to the commissioner about the domestic violence case. He was free to play again, but no team signed him because it was going to come with a ton of backlash and no team wanted to deal with that because it would have been a distraction to the team. Also, many people lost respect for Rice for putting his hands on a women. No one would look at him the same anymore. He has yet to sign with any team since the incident took
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
This research paper will determine whether professional athletes deserve a second chance to play in professional sports after inappropriate behaviors. Professional athletes are considered idols and are often held to higher standards. Society has become concerned with so many of today’s athletes making the evening news for their unsuitable behaviors.
It was then argued that it was not the league’s right to suspend the basketball player even if his opinion was offensive to others, but he still had the religious freedom to express his opinions as stated in the American constitution.... ... middle of paper ... ... This could be argued by the simple fact that the legal system (despite being a supposedly emotionless system), is in fact, based highly on emotion.
When does a contact sport become a crime? That is the question that every National Football League (NFL) fan has asked themselves in light of the former Saints defensive coordinator (DC) Gregg Williams’ “bounty program.” No one person has wrestled with this question more than the NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell. Goodell was faced with an ethical decision that will shape his tenure as the NFL’s commissioner; his decision will become precedence for many commissioners after him. Using the RESOLVEDD strategy of decision-making developed by Raymond Pfeiffer and Ralph Forsberg (2005), this paper will examine the scandal, scrutinize the decisions made, and determine if the NLF commissioner took the correct action for the league.
Stephanie Slade, a libertarian and a deputy managing editor for Reason magazine, wrote an article asking the question “Is watching football unethical?” She presents evidence, that we will review, that professional football players are being harmed by playing their game. She then lays out a series of analogies about, what she feels, are related topics and compares them to football players. She never answers her own question, but you do get the distinct feeling that she thinks people should stop watching professional football. She never defines ethics and assumes that everyone would see injustice in the trends she points out. I don’t agree with Ms. Slade and I don’t see injustice in the sad case of these players.
Is it wrong for the media to be so harsh on some of the best basketball players in the
The “big” problem is Donald Sterling. Late April TMZ reported the racist remarks, the NBA investigated almost immediately, releasing statements and more about why the argument between Donald Sterling and his girlfriend was started by a social media website, Sterling’s girlfriend, V. Stiviano, posting of picture of her and Erving “Magic” Johnson, and bringing African-Americans to his games.
Throughout this editorial, the author really tries to get to your emotions. He uses pathos to try to persuade the reader into not liking Bobby Knight. “He screamed at referees, berated and belittled members of his own team, heaved chairs.”(Yardley) He is trying to make you dislike Knight, for the things that he has done in the past. He is making Knight to be this immoral individual, who tries to hurt and inflict pain on others. He also states how Knight violated policies, only because they didn’t apply to him. All of this is mentioned just to get the reader to think “yea, I’m glad he was fired, he was a confused menace to society, who should have been fi...
Society calls for athletes to give flawless performances in the stadiums and arenas. The fans have grown accustomed to high flying, hard hitting shows of athleticism and finesse, and oftentimes an athletes success gains them a elevated status in society with special privileges that you and I can only dream of. As there careers get bigger and bigger they fell that they should be shown a certain respect by fans when not on the field, and many athletes become angered when they feel that they're status isn't being respected, oftentimes leading to confrontation. So the question becomes whether or not the nature of today's sports holds the explanation for the rising number of sports stars being convicted and accused of crimes.
In a moral context, it is important to understand the extension of unethical conduct on the field to the inevitable corruption of personal life that becomes part of societal interaction. This type of behavior can extend to sexual misconduct (rape, marital infidelity, etc.), violence, and criminal activity. In modern sporting culture, the popularity and great success of athletes tends to tempt tem into thinking that the game they play is also being played in their personal lives. This form of public personae affects the way they view lawful conduct and morality as a means to achieve success in family life, personal choices, and the management of their daily activities off the field. The public image dictates the way they interact with other people outside of their professional careers. More so, the promotion of immoral and unethical behaviors in sporting institutions set another precedent in which athletes are encouraged to behave through a gamesmanship model. The enculturation of corrupt business practices tend to create a culture of winning as the primary goal of attaining greater wealth and financial prosperity over the sportsmanship qualities that can increase the ethical and moral culture of athletic performance. These moral aspects of off-field behavior define the underlying extension of gamesmanship as a part of immoral behavior by professional athletes:
Jackie Robinson was a prominent figure in American history as he broke the color line, and was the first black athlete to play in a white league. Americans believed this would stop racism in the future and integrate all sports, but racism has planted its roots in sports ever since 1947. The NBA is a professional basketball league and has been very popular in the United States since its creation. The sport is enjoyed by all races although most of the players are of African American race. During recent events, L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling was caught making racist remarks in an audio recording. He was frustrated that his girlfriend was hanging with other African Americans, even the great NBA legend Magic Johnson. He wanted her not to bring African Americans to his games and not to broadcast it on Instagram. He stated, " Yeah, it bothers me a lot that you want to promo-broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to (Sterling)?" He also complained, " But why publicize it on the Instagram and why bring it to my games (Sterling)?" After the release of the recordings, the NBA community was in an uproar. In protest, the player of the Clippers wore their training jerseys inside out (Moore). As a result, Adam Silver , commissioner of the NBA, banned Donald Sterling for life. Sterling could not attend nor part...
Even though many organizations claim to be about equality and respect for their players and even their spectators—of color. It becomes evident that respect and equality is not the priority of the organization, which are headed by majority White males. For example, in 2014, the Atlanta Hawks, a sport organization with a roster majority of young Black men and its fans being nearly 70 percent Black came under criticism and investigation for racist comments made via email and phone conference. The racist comments that were made were by former Hawks owner, Bruce Levenson, and Hawks GM, Danny Ferry; Both White men. Both Levenson and Ferry were involved in two race controversies. Former Atlanta Hawks’ owner Bruce Levenson sent out an email to other Hawks CEOs stating that the audience and it entertainment (the team, cheerleaders, halftime talent, music selection, etc.) are all Black. Levenson continued to say in his email that because the audience and entertainment were majority Black, it was scaring aware White fans and investors from coming to the games (Joesph, 2014, USA Today. On the other hand, Hawks’ GM Danny Ferry was recorded during a conference call making defamatory remakes about free agent, at the time, Luol Deng who the Hawks were trying to acquire. During the call, Ferry professes that “ ‘[Deng] has a little African in him’ ”(ESPN.com). In the
He got to focused on the allegations made by a teammate and did not consider the implications of identifying criminal suspects before they face legal charges. The Detroit Free Press, which published a similar, follow-up story the next morning, June 16, based its report on “people familiar with the investigation.” Ironically, the use of anonymous sources led the Free Press to publish another different editorial piece the next day criticizing Wade’s and their own report. The editorial emphasized that Thomas was entitled to “the presumption of innocence and to be based on more solid information.” This shows that at least this editorial followed and held their own accountability of their mistakes and corrected them the next and prominently. The manner their mistake was explained is interesting because they did not apologize but based their corrections and clarifications should be done more carefully and clearly by basing on their information on more solid sources. The reporter Wade, did not practice ubuntu, as he did not have compassion for Isaiah and went directly to search for his own “sources” instead of seeking the suspect, in this case Isaiah Thomas and perhaps attempt to get a clear understanding of the story. In this story, the categorical imperative that Wade jumped on one witnesses’ remarks in an attempt to be the first to cover the story is immoral. This story is very risky because not only can it tarnish Isaiah’s reputation but it can also end his NBA career just like its ended many athletes including Pete Rose. The steps Wade took in effort to cover the story first are very unethical as he did not seek a legitimate source to support his story, instead his egoism took over the report when it was published by stating “people familiar with the investigation”, which theoretically can mislead the reader to think about
Everyone in this world has experienced an ethical dilemma in different situations and this may arise between one or more individuals. Ethical dilemma is a situation where people have to make complex decisions and are influenced based on personal interest, social environment or norms, and religious beliefs (“Strategic Leadership”, n.d.). The leaders and managers in the company should set guidelines to ensure employees are aware and have a better chance to solve and make ethical decisions. Employees are also responsible in understanding their ethical obligations in order to maintain a positive work environment. The purpose of this case study is to identify the dilemma and analyze different decisions to find ways on how a person should act