Very often, the reaction to the many scandals that periodically rock the world of sport is simply to make urgent demands to develop a healthy sports culture. If this is the aim, I shall try to outline what the sphere of ethics and philosophy might contribute to the debate.
The ethics of sport, or sport ethics, is a discipline that on the one hand, tries to highlight the values sport specifically promotes and encourages, and on the other, explores a series of particular situations where the contrast between what sport should be and what it in fact is appears clearer. Any discussion about the strictly moral nature of sporting activity must necessarily take as its starting point the definition of sport itself. To be able to say that it is morally wrong to deliberately break the rules of a game, to fail to accept a referee’s decision, or to make use of various technological aids or drugs, one must first have a clear understanding of what is meant by the concept of a game (and sport) and why these behaviors are incompatible with this activity.
