Ethics and morality in professional sport

Abstract

In this paper, sport is considered from the viewpoint of sports ethics and morality. Sport is individual and collective social activity which, due to its strategic importance for the development of the younger generations and the maintenance of public health, is regulated by the Law on sport. In addition to laws and by-laws, the behavior of athletes and other sporting event participants, has, since the first Olympic games, been regulated by a codex of ethical and moral standards that is applied universally to all athletes, sports organizations and sporting events, both for amateurs and professionals and sports fans as well. The difference between personal ethical standards and the morality of athletes, groups and collectives, particular communities including sports clubs, sports organizations and groups of sports fans, has always existed and will continue to exist in the future. Unethical and immoral behavior has always existed in sport, and this is the type of behavior that deviates from the athletes’ethical code and the morality of the social environment. Unethical and immoral behavior in sport destroys the noble meaning of sport and endangers other sporting event participants as well as the environment.