Submission Deadline: October 30, 2017
Integrity in the playing and management of sport is becoming one of the critical issues of our time. Barely a day goes by without a news story about some form of challenge to the integrity of sport, for example: the large scale financial corruption scandals that have engulfed FIFA and other governing bodies; allegations of industrial scale doping in Russian athletics; concerns about match-manipulation in football, tennis and other major sports; racial and other forms of discrimination that haunt many sports; violence, on and off the field; human rights abuses of workers who help stage sporting events.
These are a few of the areas in which significant ethical issues arise and which demand the development of policy based on sound ethical judgements, and the ability of sports managers to put policy into practice. At the professional level, sports integrity underpins the commercial, social and cultural value of sports. Fans will only be prepared to buy into the drama of sport if they are assured that the contest is of the highest integrity and is a product they can trust. Actions that undermine the integrity of sport run the risk of undermining the business of sport and putting the jobs and economic value of a whole sector in jeopardy.
Further, sport is often said to hold a particular place in culture and society with life-long and generational attachments often made to clubs and sports. Threats to the integrity of sport threaten to loosen these socio-cultural ties. Non-professional sport raises issues of integrity of its own, for example: the protection of children and young people; the role of volunteers; inclusion and exclusion in amateur and community sports; exposure to injuries in school sports; access to sports resources for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Indicative areas of interest include, but are not restricted to:
- Sport and ethics – fairness and justice
- Governance and the regulation of sport in regards to anti-corruption
- Ethics and the financial management of sport
- Agents and third-party ownership
- Match-fixing and strategies to combat manipulation
- Gambling, betting and online/mobile technology
- Sports medicine, doping and drugs education
- New technology, the body and gene therapy
- Violence, head injuries and youth sport
- Diversity and inclusion
- Equity and anti-discrimination
- Sport, politics and human rights
- Employment rights of athletes
- Stadium and hosting security
Papers of a maximum of 6000 words excluding bibliography should identify the critical ethical issues that arise in the topic under discussion and explore how policy and/or practice might be derived from sound ethical judgements. Papers that are co-written by academics and sports practitioners are especially welcome, but it is not a requirement. Submissions should be made via the journal’s online submission system, ScholarOne; authors should indicate in their cover letter that the submission is to be considered for the Special Issue on Sports Integrity: Ethics, Policy and Practice. Any questions or to submit abstracts for feedback – please contact the guest editor.
Guest Editor
- Andy Harvey, PhD, Research Associate, Birkbeck Sports Business Centre, London, UK and freelance consultant to the sports industry (e-mail andy@andyharveyetc.com)