According to Emile Durkheim, discipline is the first element of morality. I am reminded of this as I have read these various stories which bring to light elements of morality in college and professional sports. We know that discipline is an importa
nt part of sports—all athletes have to have the dedication to put in the work to improve their craft—but is morality? Should programs that emphasize sports also emphasize morality? Interestingly enough, the second element of morality for Durkheim is the attachment to social groups, also described as altruism. As a member of a team, professional athletes at least have the attachment necessary to work with their social group, and many of them, additionally have the altruism that leads them to start and contribute to charities. Yet, too often, we hear stories about their lack of morality. From Miguel Cabrera telling the police to shoot him,toCappie Pondexter tweeting a derogatory term for Japanese people (among other tweets) and even Jim Tressel, and his failure to notify Ohio State’s compliance officer about the potential violations of his students. Are athletes moral? Do we expect them to be? Or are they, in Lawrence Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, at stage 2 (individualism) where all the good they do is for the benefit of themselves, rather than for others?
And then we have Brandon Davies dismissed from Brigham Young University’s basketball team for failure to comply with the school’s honor code. He admitted to his teammates that he had premarital sex even knowing that the result would be his dismissal. Should we wish for more of sports to uphold this level of morality? Or should we find our moral compasses in other places?