ABSTRACT
The debate about the moral values of sport is not new, but rather an ancient and persistent one that goes back to Aristotle’s philosophical treatises, if not before. People associated with the world of competitive sport generally confer very positive moral values on sport, which they feel justifies the activity itself. Most critics of this view are outsiders who rarely belong to the sporting community. Those ‘in the middle’ consider that sport is an accurate reflection of both the good and the bad aspects of society as a whole. The Olympic motto, Citius, altius, fortius (Faster, higher, stronger), can therefore be interpreted in various ways according to one’s standpoint: as an almost metaphysical search for purity and excellence; as an ideology of power, destruction and domination; or as a reflection of a combination of positive and harmful forces in society. The essential value of these interpretations is to suggest that only by constantly challenging our interpretations can knowledge of the moral values in competitive sports be improved.
