How do Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Gamesmanship Change when exposed to a Sport Ethics Course?

Abstract

An important responsibility of coaches is teaching their athletes to make appropriate ethical decisions. One aspect of ethical decision-making involves gamesmanship. Making appropriate gamesmanship decisions is often influenced by the importance of winning. Coaches and athletes recognize what is appropriate but have a difficult time acting appropriately when winning and losing are on the line. This study used a pre-class post-class gamesmanship inventory to determine if an ethics course had an impact on the gamesmanship beliefs of graduate students enrolled in a leadership-focused master’s degree program. It was noted that a shift in gamesmanship beliefs occurred as a result of the sport ethics course. Keywords: gamesmanship, ethics, morals, coaches, education