If I had to choose between my wife and my putter... well, I’d miss her.
Who says this is cheating
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Who says this is cheating, Sharon Kay Stoll, Kendall Hunt, Iowa, 1993 ISBN 0-8403-8521-8 (122 pages including 7 pages of references)
The book consists of 6 main chapters (with introduction and final thoughts). The chapters are: What's this sports ethics stuff about?
Tough questions
The good coach
Fans, bands and home court advantage
Who's in charge here?
Research in moral reasoning and moral development
The book's sub-title is "anybody's sports ethics book?" and it addresses real issues very practically. Stoll begins by saying that for many people putting sport and ethics in the same sentence is a contradiction. However she states her position on behalf of the team contributing to the book: "We, as former coaches and athletes, actually believe in the proposition that sport can be ethical and that sport can be practiced by just ordinary folks". Page 3
The style of the book is an imaginary dialogue between you the reader - you are perhaps former high school athlete, played a little college ball and are a volunteer in youth sport - and perhaps a coach.
In chapter one you see a coach ball tampering to help his pitcher. The discussion between you and the coach is about whether winning isall important or if it ois devalued if you cheat to win. After the dialogue, the issues are summarized and the key concepts are stated and defined - eg honor, gamesmanship, integrity etc
Chapter two deals with the star player being found mid season to be ineligible. Do you come clean or stay silent? Chapter 3 is a very American situation - an exam scam to get a high school athlete into college on an athletic scholarship. Chapter 4 is about cheerleaders etc being drilled to be abusive to visiting team. Chapter 5 is about a coach whose style of coaching is to bully. This leads into the idea of developing a bill of rights and code of ethics for athletes and coaches.
Chpater 6 reports on research on moral reasoning in sport.
The final paragraph of the book challenges the reader to look at the effects of the win at all costs, non-moral approach to sport and to do a little ethics.
The book "does exactly want it claims. It will lead you to think about sports ethics issues. Thoroughly recommended for those who what to think!