Book by WCU professor examines ethical issues in the business of sport
A recently released book written by Kadence Otto, professor of sport management in the College of Business at 91女神, takes a fresh look at some of the latest ethical challenges arising in the business of sport.
The second edition of 鈥淎pplied Ethics for Sport Managers,鈥 a 16-chapter textbook published by Carolina Academic Press in Durham, is designed to serve as an update of Otto鈥檚 first edition, published in 2019.
鈥淏ecause of the pace of change and the impact that certain changes are having on sport and the sport industry at large, I felt that three new chapters needed to be added on the front end to provide a comprehensive overview of what I've called 鈥楾he Essentials of Sport,鈥欌 Otto said.
One new chapter focuses on the intense pressure athletes are under to hyper-commit to elite performance expectations and the dangers such an extreme commitment poses, while another examines the necessity of human error in sport and asks whether technological advances reduce the autonomy and human agency of sporting participants.
Another new section discusses the responsibility that sporting leagues and organizations have to protect against the external threats of sports gambling and a frequently hostile social media environment that violates athletes' sense of safety and security.
鈥淭hings move very fast in the world of sports,鈥 Otto said. 鈥淢any of the ethical dilemmas in the first edition have since been resolved 鈥 most of them, in a positive or progressive way.鈥
For example, at one point more than 10,000 Native American mascots were being used at all levels of sports from schools to professional teams; college athletes were bound by rules that restricted their freedom of movement and capped compensation at a scholarship; and sports coverage and TV exposure for female athletes was nearly nonexistent, Otto said.
That has changed, she said. 鈥淧resently, there are less than 5,000 Native American mascots being used at all levels of sports; college athletes now have the freedom to transfer and can capitalize on their NIL (name, image and likeness); and sports coverage and TV exposure for female athletes has improved considerably,鈥 she said.
But, even with those changes, more can 鈥 and should 鈥 be done, Otto said. 鈥淎s we look at our existing system, we find ways to move the system closer to a place where there is no moral contradiction,鈥 she said.
A.J. Grube, dean of the College of Business, said that having textbook authors on the faculty sends a signal to students and other interested parties that professors in the college truly are experts in their field.
鈥淒r. Otto鈥檚 contributions to the sport management discipline are significant,鈥 Grube said. 鈥淪pecifically, her books force us all to consider multiple perspectives around sport ethics. I am especially grateful for the time and effort she invests to further the discipline and to help her students.鈥
Otto was named a Scholarly Development Assignment Program recipient in 2024. The program assists members of the WCU faculty in improving their competence as scholars by providing a period of leave from usual work assignments to pursue concentrated scholarly work.
During her leave, she completed the second edition of 鈥淎pplied Ethics for Sport Managers.鈥 Written in a student-friendly fashion, the book includes updated real-world situations and new 鈥淩ed Flag Challenges,鈥 which Otto described as 鈥渞eal-life dilemmas in sport that test our commitment to operating professionally, ethically and socially responsibly.鈥
鈥淢y aim was to find a current, hot-button issue in sport and come up with a catchy title to draw students in and spark their interest in applying theory to the real world,鈥 she said. A few examples of 鈥楻ed Flag鈥 titles are 鈥淛ontay Porter Banned for Life for Spot-Fixing,鈥 鈥淓nhanced Games Encourage Superhuman Athletes,鈥 鈥淪econdary Market Ticket Sellers' Exorbitant Prices,鈥 鈥淭he Transgender Athlete Dilemma鈥 and 鈥淭he WNBA's Meager Salaries.鈥
鈥淪tudents love real-world examples, perhaps because they are so engaged with social media. 鈥橲ports Ethics鈥 is the class where I can't stop the students from talking, debating and engaging with each other. This is fantastic; it's what we're after as educators, I think, to get students excited about learning,鈥 Otto said.
鈥淪o, when we look at the hot-off-the-press ESPN headlines at the beginning of class, my challenge is to segue their discussion from who scored the most points or missed the winning field goal to the ethical aspects of the issue,鈥 she said. 鈥淥nce this takes place, they begin the transformation of moving from a sport manager to a sport leader.鈥
While the primary target audience for the book is students, Otto said she thinks that sport managers and even fans might find it interesting to examine sport from a different, ethical lens.
And, the process of writing a second edition was a learning experience for the WCU educator herself.
鈥淵ou learn something new each time you do something again. The 鈥榩ractice鈥 from the first round informs the second. So, the second edition is better, and more complete than the first. And the aim is that the third edition will be better than the second,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t's dialectics, progressive change in action. From a macro-perspective, it's a reminder to us, as humans, of our responsibility to leave the world better than we found it.鈥