Ethics And Athletes Essay

Introduction The coach-athlete relationship has a significant impact on an athletes’ athletic endeavors. Several aspects of sport, play a role in an athletes’ development both physically and emotionally. Researching the psychological needs of athletes in terms of motivation and satisfaction is necessary to develop an understanding of the athletes’ perceptions of their coach’s behavior (Felton & Jowett, 2012). Ethical decisions made by coaches are factors that influence athletes own decision making process (Yukhymenko-Lescroart, Brown, & Paskus, 2015). Examining the perceptions athletes have of their coaches’ behaviors allows researchers to gain an understanding of the impact those behaviors have on the student-athlete. Exploring the perceptions coaches have of their own behaviors is also necessary to understand the differences in views. Coach behavior plays an …show more content…
It is important that coach behavior is in fact ethical, to ensure athletes’ behavior is also ethical. Ethics are a large part of sport. Athletes’ tend to replicate the behaviors they learn from coaches (Yukhymenko-Lescroart, Brown, & Paskus, 2015). This could be a game changer. If coaches’ unethical behavior is replicated by athletes’ the world of sports will see a significant decline in fair play and sportsmanship. This topic focuses on the psychological needs theory and the cognitive evaluation theory. The psychological needs theory is the micro theory of the self-determination theory. This theory has three elements, autonomy, competence and relatedness. These three elements are essential to the health of individuals through growth. The cognitive evaluation theory is based intrinsic motivation. The social aspects of intrinsic motivation are explored. These elements are reward driven. Competence and autonomy influences intrinsic motivation. (Self-determination theory,