ABSTRACT
The conversation now turns to sports ethics. Some claim that sportsmanship (or “sportspersonship,” as Skylar refers to it) is the central unifying ethical virtue in sport. But what is sportsmanship? Is it simply an extension of the moral principles we use in everyday life, or is it ethical behavior distinctive to sports? Pat argues that sportsmanship is conduct appropriate for one who engages in sport; it is not out of date or an old-fashioned virtue since it is grounded in the nature of sport. J. K., who teaches a university course in sports ethics, joins the discussion and explains James Keating’s account of sportsmanship. Keating distinguishes two very different kinds of activities, sport and athletics, and argues that sportsmanship must be understood differently depending on whether the participant is engaged in sport, a playful activity, or athletics, a competitive activity. After considering various examples, Pat argues that the distinction between sport and athletics is unclear. Keating’s attempt to distinguish sharply the kinds of attitudes and conduct appropriate for each kind of activity fails, since sporting activities are both playful and competitive. Sport
is serious nonseriousness, and sportsmanship requires a perspective that appreciates sport as both playful and competitive. The virtue of sportsmanship is a mean between excessive seriousness and an excessive sense of playfulness. Finally, Pat suggests that sportsmanship might be understood as “respect for the game.”
