ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ethical obligations of professional athletes and other people with celebrity status to use their platform to speak out against instances of injustice when doing so is likely to attract attention to these issues and lead to positive change. Just as we would expect the moral person to provide aid to someone else when doing so is likely to be effective and the benefits of doing so clearly outweigh the costs, I argue that individuals with celebrity status are under a similar obligation to use their platform the advance social change when doing so is likely to be effective and is unlikely to impose an unreasonable cost. This discussion is divided into three parts: First, I examine the history of and impact of celebrities using their platform and status to advance social change; second, I consider “samaritanism” as a moral principle and why there is a moral obligation to provide aid to others under certain circumstances; and third, I show why this principle, when applied to specific situations, justifies some celebrities in speaking out, obligates others to do so, and sometimes suggests that doing so would be blameworthy.
