Olympics and Ethics
Chapter from the book:
Uluç,
S.
&
Uluç,
E.
A.
(eds.)
2024.
Academic Research and Evaluations in the Field of Sports Sciences I.
Synopsis
The basis of sports dates back to ancient times. It can be stated that the foundations of various sports branches were laid due to needs such as hunting and protection from wild animals. The basis of the Olympics is based on field running, which was first included in the religious ceremonies held in the Olympia region of Greece in the name of Zeus. These festivals, which ended the wars between the Greek city states, albeit for a short time, gradually grew and became huge events where competition took place at a high level. Beyond being a sports event, the Olympics have begun to be seen as a social, moral, ethical, cultural and diplomatic platform. However, the games moved away from their purpose, match-fixing incidents were carried out with the ambition of winning, Gladiator fights were included in the games with the occupation of Rome, and eventually the games ceased to exist with the acceptance of Christianity. The Modern Olympics were revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin and, as in the Ancient Olympics, the main aim was to compete on equal terms and to prioritize ethical rules while gaining an advantage. Ethics is expressed as the behaviors that a person should or should not do in his job, institution or environment. Ethics in sports means doing what is fair within the rules while fulfilling the requirements of the branch. The aim of the study was to examine some unethical behaviors that occurred in some Olympics and make various suggestions.