Examined Sport

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Each episode focuses on ideas drawn from the philosophy of sport. The podcast seeks to be a resource for students and scholars, to highlight and examine themes in the philosophy of sport, and to spur new thought and research in the field.

The Sports Ethicist


    • Jan 2, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 28m AVG DURATION
    • 29 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Examined Sport

    Nicholas Dixon, "Winning and Athletic Superiority"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 2, 2023 13:29


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I look at Nicholas Dixon's article: “On Winning and Athletic Superiority.” Published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport in 1999, this article examines the relationship between winning and athletic superiority. Dixon also explores whether playoffs are an effective way to determine athletic superiority.

    Leslie Howe, "Gamesmanship"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2022 11:55


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I examine Leslie Howe's “Gamesmanship.” Published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport in 2004, this article quickly became a classic, the go-to article on the topic of gamesmanship. In the article, Howe defines the concept of gamesmanship and analyses the ethical dimensions of gamesmanship in sport.

    Cesar Torres and Peter Hagar, "The Desirability of the Season Long Tournament: A Response to Finn"

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2022 11:30


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I look at Cesar Torres and Peter Hager's article: “The Desirability of the Season Long Tournament: A Response to Finn.” Published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport in 2011, this article, as the title suggests, is Torres and Hager's response to Stephen Finn's “In Defense of the Playoff System.” While Finn defended a playoff system, in their article, Torres and Hager challenge that defense and offer arguments for superiority of the season-long tournament model over the playoff system.

    Stephen Finn, "In Defense of the Playoff System"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2021 11:45


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I look at Stephen Finn's article “In Defense of the Playoff System” (Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 2009). In this article, Finn sets out first to challenge critiques of the playoff system from Nicholas Dixon and William Morgan, and then to offer his positive defense of the playoff system.  

    Pam Sailors, "Mixed Competition and Mixed Messages"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2021 10:59


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I look at Pam Sailors' “Mixed Competition and Mixed Messages.” Sailors takes up the question of sex segregation in sport by critiquing Jane English's 1978 “Sex Equality in Sport". Sailors then discusses how to deal with the complexity of gender in sport and how best to structure competitions.

    Jane English, "Sex Equality in Sports"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2021 15:03


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I look at Jane English's “Sex Equality in Sports,” published in Philosophy and Public Affairs in 1978. In this classic and influential paper, English examines what equal opportunity for women in sports means and what it implies.

    Nicholas Dixon, "A Moral Critique of Mixed Martial Arts"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2021 14:33


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I discuss Nicholas Dixon's “A Moral Critique of Mixed Martial Arts” published in Public Affairs Quarterly in 2015. This paper is one of the first philosophical analyses of the sport of MMA.

    Nicholas Dixon, "Boxing, Paternalism, and Legal Moralism"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2021 16:05


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I discuss Nicholas Dixon's “Boxing, Paternalism, and Legal Moralism” published in Social Theory and Practice in April 2001. While Dixon is not the first to address moral questions about the sport of boxing, this paper is important because Dixon focuses on what he calls pre-emptive paternalism as the basis for restrictions on boxing. This conception of paternalism has since been influential in the philosophy of sport on a wide range of issues from doping to banning of American football.

    Scott Kretchmar, “From Test to Contest: An Analysis of Two Kinds of Counterpoint in Sport”

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2021 10:52


      In this episode of Examined Sport, I discuss Scott Kretchmar's “From Test to Contest: An Analysis of Two Kinds of Counterpoint in Sport” published in the Journal of Philosophy of Sport in 1975. One of the foundational papers of the discipline, Kretchmar examines the distinction between tests and contests. The paper introduces several ideas that are influential on Kretchmar's later work and on other thinkers in the field.  

    Randolph Feezell, "Sportsmanship and Blowouts"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2018


      In this episode of Examined Sport, I look at Randolph Feezell’s “Sportsmanship and Blowouts: Baseball and Beyond.” Published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport in 1999, Feezell responds to Nicholas Dixon’s paper on blowouts that was the subject of a previous episode of Examined Sport. Feezell proposes what he calls the Revised Anti-Blowout thesis to better explain the ethics of blowouts.    

    Nicholas Dixon, "On Sportsmanship and Running Up The Score"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2018


    Published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport in 1992, Nicholas Dixon’s paper: “On Sportsmanship and Running up the Score” spurred a discussion on the ethics of wide-margin victories in sport. Dixon argues against what he calls the Anti-Blowout Thesis. Blowouts are not, on his view, always or necessarily unsporting.

    Kathleen Pearson, "Deception, Sportsmanship, and Ethics"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2018


    Kathleen Pearson’s “Deception, Sportsmanship, and Ethics,” was published in Quest in 1973 and it analyzes the ethical status of deception in sport and athletics. This short and exceptionally clear paper has influenced later work regarding deception and fouls in sport.

    J. S. Russell, “Are Rules All an Umpire Has to Work With?” Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2018


    J.S Russell's “Are Rules All an Umpire Has to Work With?”, published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport in 1999, presents a theory of sport adjudication that Russell argues better explains sport, the role of officials and umpires, and guides those officials in officiating their sports. Russell’s paper is one of the first explicit attempts to explain and apply interpretivism, one of the central philosophical accounts of sport. This is part two of two episodes on Russell's paper.

    J. S. Russell, “Are Rules All an Umpire Has to Work With?” Part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2018


    J.S Russell's “Are Rules All an Umpire Has to Work With?”, published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport in 1999, presents a theory of sport adjudication that Russell argues better explains sport, the role of officials and umpires, and guides those officials in officiating their sports. Russell’s paper is one of the first explicit attempts to explain and apply interpretivism, one of the central philosophical accounts of sport. This is part one of two episodes on Russell's paper.  

    Peter Arnold, "Three Approaches Toward an Understanding of Sportsmanship"

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2018


    Peter Arnold's 1984 article "Three Approaches Toward an Understanding of Sportsmanship" looks at sportsmanship as a social union, as the promotion of pleasure, and as a form of altruism. Arnold also criticizes James Keating's view of sportsmanship that was discussed in a previous episode.

    Randolph Feezell, "Sportsmanship"

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2018


    In his 1986 article, "Sportsmanship," Randolph Feezell argues that James Keating's classic account of sportsmanship goes too far in radically separating sports and athletics. In this episode, we examine Feezell's criticism of Keating and then look Feezell's account of sportsmanship as a virtue between seriousness and non-seriousness.

    James Keating, Sportsmanship

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2018


    What is sportsmanship? We all know we are supposed to be good sports but how do we know what that means in practice? To answer such questions, we need an account of sportsmanship. In this episode, we are going to look at the classic account of sportsmanship given by James Keating in his “Sportsmanship as Moral Category,” published in Ethics in 1964.

    Bernard Suits "Words on Play"

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2017 15:38


    This episode looks at Bernard Suits' classic paper “Words on Play,” in which Suits attempts to provide a definition of play. While sport and play are not the same thing; examining one yields insight for the other.

    Edwin Delattre, "Some Reflections on Success And Failure in Competitive Athletics"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2017 14:57


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I discuss Edwin Delattre's 1975 paper: "Some Reflections on Success And Failure in Competitive Athletics." This papers stands out for the distinction between winning and success; and losing from failure. It is also one of the earliest accounts of the logical incompatibility thesis.

    Warren Fraleigh, "Why The Good Foul is Not Good"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2017 15:22


    The intentional foul highlights why it is important to understand the nature of rules in sports. In this episode of Examined Sport, I discuss Warren Fraleigh's "Why the Good Foul is Not Good." In this 1982 paper, Fraleigh presents an influential critique of the tactical intentional foul, igniting decades of discussion about the ethics of the intentional or 'good' foul.

    The Ethos of Games

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2017 16:46


    In this episode of Examined Sport, I discuss Fred D'Agostino's "The Ethos of Games." In this 1981 paper, D'Agostino critiques Formalist view of games and defends an alternative theory we call conventionalism.

    Bernard Suits "The Elements of Sport"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2017 14:29


    In this episode, I examine Bernard Suits' "The Elements of Sport." This 1973 essay applies Suits' definition of game-playing (see the "What is a Game?" episode) to sport.

    Bernard Suits "What is a Game?"

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2017 14:54


    In this episode, I examine Bernard Suits' "What is a Game?" Suits presents his influential definition of game-playing in this discipline-defining article first published in 1967. Suits, Bernard. "What is a Game?" Philosophy of Science, Vol 34, No. 2 (June 1967), pp 148-56.

    The Sports Ethics Show: Sport Studies Symposium 2015

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2015 62:43


    The 4th annual Sport Studies Symposium was held April 24, 2015. In this episode, the symposium participants discuss the ideas raised by the papers given at the symposium. In the first part of the episode, Mike Perry and Shawn E. Klein talk with Matt Adamson, Stephen Mosher, and Synthia Syndor about the nature of sport studies,its past, and its future. In the second part, Shawn and Mike talk with Aaron Harper, Stephanie Quinn, and Zach Smith about legal realism and sport, sport in the ancient world, and theology of sport. More information about the symposium here.

    Reviewing The Matheny Manifesto

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2015 67:20


    In The Matheny Manifesto, Mike Matheny, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, lays out his diagnosis and solution for youth sports. Mike Perry, a long-term Cardinals fan and frequent Sports Ethics Show guest, joins Sports Ethicist Shawn E. Klein for a discussion of some of the books main themes. They discuss the problem of over-involved parents, the lack of adult-free play spaces, and Matheny’s view of leadership, authority, and faith in the context of coaching and sport. 

    Blown Calls and Technology

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2015 68:13


    Seth Bordner of The University of Alabama talks with Shawn E. Klein on The Sports Ethics Show about the problem of officiating mistakes in sport and how technology can and should be used to prevent and correct these mistakes.

    College Basketball and Freshman Ineligibility

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2015 63:42


    With March Madness around the corner, our attention turns to college basketball. But with players going to the NBA sooner and with athlete compensation looming, many fans are concerned about the future of the college game. The rule for most of the 20th century was that college freshmen were not eligible to play varsity sports. This changed in the 1970s but the idea has recently been making a bit of comeback. Is it a panacea for the problems plaguing the NCAA or is just window dressing that fails to address the real problems. Professor Chad Carlson of Hope College joins The Sports Ethics Show to discuss this and other NCAA issues.

    Pushing the Line: How far is too far?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2015 71:13


    How far is too far in the pursuit of victory? Great athletes push on the norms, rules, and boundaries of their games. This is part of what allows them to achieve excellence, but it also sometimes leads to crossing the line. Jack Bowen, blogger at the Santa Clara University Institute for Sports Law and Ethics blog, and Shawn Klein discuss several cases at the boundaries of the rules of sport: icing-the-kicker, non-traditional formations in the NFL, and “Deflation-gate.”  

    The Ethics of Fouls

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2015 66:49


    In the 2010 World Cup, Luis Suárez committed an infamous handball in the Uruguay and Ghana match that prevented Ghana from winning the match. This incident raised many questions about the propriety of strategic fouls. Erin Flynn of Ohio Wesleyan University joins Shawn Klein on the podcast to discuss whether the commission of intentional fouls for strategic gain is blameworthy. In the course of the conversation, they touch on the value of winning and its relationship to skillful play.

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