ethical considerations

.docx

School

California Baptist University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

593

Subject

Health Science

Date

May 30, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

6

Uploaded by ChancellorReindeer2072

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 1 Ethical Considerations in Coaching Francisco Casillas California Baptist University KIN505: Ethics and Leadership Kinesiology Dr. Ed Garrett 2/6/22
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 2 Ethical Considerations in Coaching A coach has a huge responsibility to their athletes due to the impact they have on the lives of athletes both on and off the field. Athletes look to coaches for guidance and support, so an athlete should feel safe around their coach and the environment created by the coach. Teaching athletes how to succeed in an ethical manner leaves a lasting impact on their development as people. The pressure to succeed becomes so great that when coaches faced with ethical dilemmas, some make the right choice, and some make the wrong choice. As a coach you can face many ethical dilemmas, but three of the major ethical dilemmas are protecting the mental health of athletes, preventing drug use, and including transgender women in women’s sports. Mental Health In the most recent Olympics, the world was shocked when the greatest gymnast of all time withdrew from the Olympics in the middle of the competition. She was met with mixed reactions. Many praised her for her strength to step away from something that was mentally destroying her, and others ostracized her for it. Simone Biles was facing many issues like dealing with the trauma of being sexual abused by her previous trainer and dealing with the “twisties”, a mental block when an athlete loses spatial awareness, and potentially other mental health issues and she decided to prioritize her health and pull herself out of the competition. Another instance of mental health issues was National Champion Cameron Burrell committing suicide on August 9, 2021. As an athlete’s career progresses the stress factors increase as well. According to Purcel et al. (2019), elite athletes have many risk factors associated with mental health that come from their sport like overtraining, injury, and performance to general risk indicators like negative life events and low social support. To
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 3 counteract this lack of mental health support it is necessary to provide mental health frameworks to help battle and prevent mental health issues associated with training and competition. One way of addressing this is by providing a sports psychologist and other resources to help address mental health issues among athletes. Furthermore, as a mandated reporter, if an athlete told me that they were struggling with suicidality, I would take action to ensure that they receive the care they need. Treating athletes less like commodities and more like humans will help reduce the stress society puts on athletes and improve mental health. Drug Use As a coach, the goal is to help our athletes improve through carefully planned training regiments and other specialized means of support; however, the stress to succeed can sometimes cloud an athlete’s judgement. Many athletes have been faced with the stress of being the best, so they decide to take shortcuts and use drugs. In recent news, a Texas man by the name of Eric Lira was charged with peddling performance-enhancing drugs to elite athletes for the Tokyo Olympics. A Nigerian sprinter who was banned from the Olympics was later linked to this man. Another instance was the Russian scandal that led to the entire Russian team being sanctioned by the Olympic Committee. These types of ethical dilemmas face our athletes every day, but it is a coach’s job to develop the athlete with a clear sense of respect for themselves and the sport. Informing the athletes on the risks that come with using drugs and the consequences can help reduce the risk for drug use. Providing specialized training and even teaching the athlete how to use legal supplements and maintain a healthy diet will help fight the need to feel like drugs are necessary. The World Anti-Doping Agency’s primary strategy to deter doping is by implementing doping controls according to Moston et al (2015). These deterrents are legal sanctions, loss of potential
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help