Caulfield Jay L, Lee Felissa K, Baird Catharyn A
College of Business Administration, Department of Management, Marquette University, Straz Hall, 219, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881 USA.
College of Business Administration, Department of Management, Marquette University, Straz Hall, 220, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881 USA.
J Bus Ethics. 2023;183(2):603-617. doi: 10.1007/s10551-021-05027-4. Epub 2022 Jan 29.
The college athletics environment within the USA is ethically complex and often controversial. From an academic standpoint, athletes are often viewed as a privileged class receiving undue benefit. Yet closer inspection reveals that student athletes are at risk psychologically, physically, and intellectually in ways that undermine development and flourishing. This reality stands in troubling contrast to the prosocial, virtue-based goals expressed by university mission statements. Given the role of sport in many university business models, college athletics invites scrutiny from a business ethics standpoint. Using a humanistic leadership perspective (Pirson in: Humanistic management: protecting dignity and promoting well-being, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017), we organize our analysis around three challenges facing the college athletics system: (1) navigating the tension between claiming college athletes are amateurs rather than professionals; (2) defining the ethical edge between winning and winning fairly; and (3) moderating the insatiable drive to win while protecting student athlete well-being. We then articulate three strategies for successfully addressing these challenges: leadership role modeling, putting structural supports in place and holding people accountable. We argue that humanistic leadership and a 'balanced motivational drive mindset' (Lawrence and Nohria in: J Bus Ethics 128:383-394, 2002, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2090-2; Pirson 2017) could help move college athletics from an economistic model toward a more humanistic model that prioritizes the dignity and well-being of its participants, particularly student athletes.
美国大学体育环境在伦理方面复杂且常常引发争议。从学术角度看，运动员常被视为享有特权的阶层，获得了不当利益。然而，进一步审视会发现，学生运动员在心理、身体和智力方面面临风险，这些风险会损害其发展和茁壮成长。这一现实与大学使命宣言中所表达的亲社会、基于美德的目标形成了令人不安的反差。鉴于体育在许多大学商业模式中的作用，大学体育从商业伦理角度引发了审视。我们运用人文主义领导视角（皮尔森著：《人文主义管理：保护尊严与促进福祉》，剑桥大学出版社，剑桥，2017年），围绕大学体育系统面临的三大挑战来组织我们的分析：（1）应对宣称大学运动员是业余选手而非职业选手之间的紧张关系；（2）界定胜利与公平获胜之间的伦理界限；（3）在保护学生运动员福祉的同时，缓和对胜利的贪得无厌的追求。然后，我们阐述了成功应对这些挑战的三项策略：领导以身作则、建立结构性支持并让人们承担责任。我们认为，人文主义领导和“平衡动机驱动心态”（劳伦斯和诺里亚著：《商业伦理学杂志》第128卷：第383 - 394页，2002年，https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2090-2；皮尔森，2017年）有助于推动大学体育从经济主义模式转向更具人文主义的模式，这种模式将参与者尤其是学生运动员的尊严和福祉置于优先地位。
