Business EthicsSports & Entertainment Marketing

Do Ethics Count?• Ethics are a system of deciding what is right or wrong in a reasoned and impartial manner• Integrity, trust and fairness

• Principles are the high standards of rules and guidelines in both personal life and business

Character Development• Can be divided into stages in which people advance from childish behavior to mature and responsible behavior based on principles

• For example:• Child learns that bad behavior =

punishment and good behavior = reward• Then expectations from others grow• Eventually maturity based on a set of

principles• Considering results and effects on others

before making a decision

So why does it matter?• The lack of business ethics can result in the publicity that will undo the best marketing plans.

• Can we think of examples of when this has happened?

Profit vs. Greed• Does having a profit motive for a business make you act unethically out of greed?

• Not necessarily. Profit is a legitimate goal for a business.

• But the need to make a profit doesn’t justify unfair or deceitful business practices.

Seeking an Advantage• When athletes take illegal drugs (anabolic steroids) in hopes of improving performance• Gaining unfair advantage

• When athletes observe that those “cheating” are rewarded with higher pay or recognition, it makes the ethical choice more difficult.

When Being Bad is Profitable• In an effort to control bad behavior of athletes, leagues & teams fine players $$$

• The Wall Street Journal reported fines in 1 year:• NBA $13.9 million• NFL $3.3 million• NASCAR $384,495• MLB $170,725

How can anyone “control” behaviors of stars?

• If fines don’t work, what does?

• Fans!• Not buying tickets• Not buying merchandise• But if fans put up with unethical behavior, there is not incentive to NOT act irresponsible (still profiting)

Twitter Trouble

• Papachristou—Olympian cut from team b/c of racially insensitive remark

• New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire was fined $50,000 – anti-gay slur

• University of Oklahoma wide receiver Jaz Reynolds was suspended for tweeting disparaging remarks about the University of Texas, following a campus shooting in Austin in September 2010. After facing other disciplinary issues, Reynolds later lost his scholarship.

More Twitter Trouble

Policies…• NFL and NBA now have Twitter policies and they have enforced them regardless of the circumstances or the messages

• Neither allow tweeting during the game or 45 min. before or after

• Fines = $7,500 currently for NBA

• Chad Ochocinco was fine $25,000 during a pre-season game for tweeting “I Need Love”

Tweets gone right…

• Many athletes can use Twitter as a way to promote upcoming games, performances and appearances

Effective and Ethical

• Good decisions are both ethical and effective

• Right choices now and in the long-term

The following examples are from:• Bleacherreport.com

• Opinions are from their writers, and the text is from the article, not from Mrs. Quible

Favre was once the epitome of a role model, but after several retirements, several returns and a few pics of his “privates”, we wish his career had just ended then. Now his rep is as dirty as those pictures were.

Michael Vick has been a great player throughout his career and a horrible role model for just as long.As early as 2004, one of his trucks was pulled over and a large amount of marijuana (although he was not driving) was discovered. Then, in 2006, he flipped off booing fans after a loss to the New Orleans Saints. Yeah, he flipped off his own fans.Perhaps the funniest incident in Vick's career came in 2005. Michael Vick (or should I say Ron Mexico?) infected Sonya Elliott with herpes and was sued for it. Vick had apparently gone to clinics under the alias Ron Mexico to be tested and knew he had the disease.

Arguably the best golfer in the world, potentially one of the biggest cheaters as well.

No, he didn't cheat on the course, but he sure cheated on his wife.

While he was considered one of the best role models before the scandal broke, the list of women he cheated with is so substantial that he has to be considered one of the worst at this point.

Allen Iverson has become a bit of a trainwreck over the last few years, but his failure to be a good role model dates back more than a decade.

We've all heard his rant about practice, and really, what kind of example does that set for kids? That you don't have to practice if you're already good?

The next big incident for A.I. came last year when he was pulled over in his Lamborghini. Apparently he didn't feel that the police officer or his car was worth his time, and he was willing to leave them both behind.

Take the vehicle, I have 10 more. Police don't have anything else [expletive] to do except [expletive] with me...Do you know who I am?

How's that for arrogant?

Kobe Bryant is among the NBA's top players, but the Black Mamba is a horrible teammate.

Apart from his antics off the court, he has also developed quite a few feuds on it, including yelling at teammates like Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. There's also his well-publicized feud with Shaq that warranted its own Wikipedia page and escalated to Shaq threatening Kobe.

What's worse is that Kobe has brought his battles onto social media, indirectly addressing Smush Parker on Facebook.

He's a great player, but he needs to learn how to play as a teammate, both on and off the court.

Ben Roethlisberger has had an interesting time in the NFL. The two-time Super Bowl champ has had more ups and downs in the last seven years than most people have in their entire lives.

After winning the Super Bowl in 2005 he was in a motorcycle accident in 2006 that fractured his face in multiple places.

After winning it all again in 2008 he was suspended for the first six games of the season in 2010, with Roger Goodell issuing this statement to him in a letter.

“Your conduct raises sufficient concerns that I believe effective intervention now is the best step for your personal and professional welfare.In your six years in the NFL, you have first thrilled and now disappointed a great many people. I urge you to take full advantage of this opportunity to get your life and career back on track.”

His various other escapades have made him one of the most intriguing stories in the NFL year-after-year.

Ron Artest, or Metta World Peace, is simply crazy.While the main reason he's on here is because of the brawl against the Indiana Pacers that resulted in him attacking fans, he's also mixed it up with Paul Pierce and elbowed James Harden in the head.