Business Ethics Case Analyses: NCAA

Showing posts with label NCAA. Show all posts

Friday, April 6, 2018

NCAA: Pay-to-Play Recruiting Scandal (2018)

Controversy:

The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar governing organization that oversees over 1,100 different colleges and universities, as well as over half a million athletes across North America. Their main core values include amateurism, education, and fairness / sportsmanship. During the week of February 23rd, the FBI came out with their results on a long investigation on some of college basketball’s top programs and how they managed to land some of these top recruits. Schools such as the University of Arizona, University of Washington, North Carolina State University, University of Kentucky, amongst many others are under fire after an FBI investigation recently discovered that they had paid these top recruits and their families a lump sum of money to come play basketball for their respective schools.

Dennis Smith Jr. (Dallas) attempts a layup as
Kyle Kuzma (Lakers) looks on

An FBI wiretap revealed over 3,000 conversation hours between Arizona head coach Sean Miller and AAU Director Christian Dawkins about the recruitment and payment of Deandre Ayton, the number 3 recruit of the class of 2017 and a highly sought out prospect in this year’s NBA draft, was reportedly paid around $100,000 to attend the University of Arizona. The wiretap also leaked multiple names of assistant coaches around the NCAA such as "Book" Richardson, from the University of Arizona, who was responsible for paying Ayton and other recruits to attend Arizona. He, along with 4 other assistant coaches were arrested in September after a two-year investigation into the bribes and other scandals in college basketball. Richardson was accused of accepting upto $20,000 in bribes and persuading athletes to sign with Dawkins and a certain financial advisor. While Ayton is the only player to receive a 6-figure payment, plenty of former college stars were being paid 5-figures during their experience at school such as Dallas Mavericks standout rookie, Dennis Smith Jr. who received “5-figure payment” during his time at North Carolina State University, and late-first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Kuzma, who also received around $10,000 in payment during his time at the University of Utah. Many other players and schools were named during this investigation, leaving plenty of schools and coaches on the hot seat about their unethical methods of recruiting and keep both the FBI and the NCAA on close watch to hand out penalties. With this unethical recruiting, the coaches are breaking some of the core values instilled by the NCAA, amateurism and fairness. Once these players are paid, they lose the title of amateur - the NCAA acts as a stepping stone into professional sports, as well as getting paid, so the breaking of a core value that means so much to the organization is critical. Fairness is another value that these coaches break by unethically recruiting players, because it takes away competitiveness in recruiting. If a small school with less resources is trying to compete for a recruit with that of a school with an abundance of resources, who plans on using some resources to illegally pay that player, than it is unfair to the smaller school because it's almost that they didn't stand a chance. By these coaches illegally paying and unethically recruiting players, it creates an uneven playing field in the battle of recruiting and gives the edge to those who cheat.

Stakeholders:

There are many stakeholders that are affected from this scandal, some will be affected minimally while others severely. The administration, coaches and players of the school that was involved in the scandal will receive large penalties, scaling from loss of scholarships, vacating wins and championships, dismissal of administration, fines and suspensions, to even a temporary ban from tournaments. This ultimately will cause less and less recruits to want to attend the school knowing they're under constant investigation and are facing penalites. The school itself will take a hit as the teams will not perform well due to all the penalties, leading for the fans to stop attending, networks to stop broadcasting and sponsors to stop endorsing, causing a downward spiral in profit for the program. They will basically have to start all over again from scratch if handed severe penalties, from having to find an entire new staff, gain recruits, earn the hearts of the fans back and lastly, gain the trust of the NCAA back. Ultimately, there are many stakeholders affected from this illegal form of recruiting, placing these schools in a difficult place to find out how to clean up such a mess, and proving a point that the NCAA doesn't mess around when it comes to their core values.

Individualism:

Friedman’s theory of individualism discusses that, “the only goal of business is to profit, so the only obligation that the business person has is to maximize profit for the owner or the stakeholders.” The ethical rule of individualism however states that this should be done within the law, so an individualist would view this scandal as unethical, as the coaches were doing everything in their power to land a top recruit at their university, to hopefully win more games, sell more tickets, and give the schools a better name and more exposure, but they got the recruit by using illegal recruiting methods such as bribery and collusion. The coaches weren’t thinking about these allegations, only the profits. For example, if a school lands the number one overall recruit in the nation, then news outlets everywhere will want to cover the signing day story, broadcast stations will line up to show it on their network, fans will camp out for tickets as they want to witness the talent first hand, sponsors will want to do business as the school will be consistently in headlines. It almost creates a domino effect of profit by landing a top recruit, and from an individualist standpoint; if doing whatever it takes to land that recruit will turn a big enough profit, and its done legally and ethically, then it is okay, but in this case, it was done wrongfully and illegally, so it is wrong.

Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller heavily sweats through
his shirt as he coaches his team in an NCAA Tournament Game
(or because he is paranoid from his unethical recruiting methods?)

Kantianism:

There are four basic principles to Kantianism; first is to Act Rationally, this means to don't act inconsistently in your own actions or consider yourself exempt from your own rules, next is to allow and help people to make rational decisions, third is to respect people, their autonomy, and their individual needs and differences, lastly is to be motivated by good will, seeking to do what is right because it is right. One saying that goes with the Kantian theory is "the end doesn't justify the means." One shouldn't manipulate, lie, or cheat others just to get your way from a Kant's view, one should act respectfully and honor other's choices. This case would be viewed unethical from a Kantian’s standpoint as the coaches did not act rationally in their recruiting tactics as they felt they needed to pay the player in order to just attend the school. They certainly did not help the recruit make a rational decision with forcing him to choose between other schools and a cash bribe, and they violated the recruit's autonomy by forcing external pressure on him to make a big and difficult decision. Lastly, the coaches did not allow for the players to make a rational decision as the players knew they were doing something wrong by accepting the cash bribe presented by the coaches to attend the school, therefore this method of recruiting is seen as irrational.

Utilitarianism:

Utilitarianism involves two aspects, egoism and altruism. Egoism means to maximize your own happiness and Altruism is to maximize happiness in others. From a Utilitarian standpoint, the case should maximize happiness for all parties affected in the long run. One would find this case unethical as they were making the player and their families happy by giving them full scholarships and a lump sum of cash to choose this school and play basketball for basically only one year, and if they would land the recruit, the school and coaching staff would be ecstatic as they can increase their chances of success. But, the other schools and the NCAA wouldn't be happy as they were trying to be moral in their recruiting and the one school just cheated their way to landing a top recruit. They are also breaking the NCAA's core values and rules that have been instilled since the NCAA came into existence. In the long run, the only parties that would be happy are the recruits and their families that got paid, as the school will be subject to penalties, the NCAA will be furious as they have to hand out penalties and tighten their policies, and other schools will still be upset that they didn't land a top recruit and perhaps missed out on a chance at a national championship.

Virtue Theory:

The Virtue Theory of business ethics focuses directly on the act itself and how it is unethical. A question that must be asked is, “what is the right thing to do in this situation?” It focuses on four characteristics: courage, honesty, temperance, and justice. It should be that the act was all in good character. From this theory's standpoint, this case would be determined as unethical due to it’s unethical recruiting tactics, and the violation of NCAA rules and recruiting standards. It is considered unethical because the NCAA adheres that it's athletes all obtain the status of amateur, therefore foregoing the privilege of being paid. In knowing this, the coaches who went behind the backs of the NCAA to pay these top recruits to attend this school, were not honest in how they were able to land such highly sought-after recruits, and it clearly was not the right thing to do. Clearly, when there is something that has people losing their jobs and people getting arrested and a multi-year long investigation, then there is something not in good character going on. This method of recruiting goes against all four characteristics and is not within good character so by the Virtue Theory, it is the wrong thing to do for both parties, the coach in offering a bribe, and for the player in accepting the bribe.

Bibliography:

Bonesteel, M. (2018, February 16). 'Hall of Fame coaches should be scared:' FBI's college basketball probe reportedly contains bombshells. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/02/15/three-dozen-top-ncaa-basketball-programs-reportedly-could-turn-up-in-fbis-investigation/?utm_term=.59e008e422a9

DiNitto Omnisport, M. (2018, February 23). Duke, UNC, Kentucky among colleges named in FBI investigation into recruiting scandal. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/news/college-basketball-scandal-duke-north-carolina-michigan-state-andy-miller-christian-dawkins/1rbuw6zo74l1z1knjyb96x4prw

Murphy, B., & Irby, K. (2018, February 27). The FBI is investigating college basketball recruiting practices. Now Congress is too. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article202467669.html

Rapaport, D. (2018, February 24). Every current player implicated in the FBI's NCAA hoops probe. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2018/02/24/college-basketball-scandal-fbi-probe-players-involved

Sherman, M. (2018, February 23). Everything you need to know about the college basketball scandal. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22555512/explaining-ncaa-college-basketball-scandal-players-coaches-agents

Bonesteel, M. (2018, February 16). 'Hall of Fame coaches should be scared:' FBI's college basketball probe reportedly contains bombshells. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/02/15/three-dozen-top-ncaa-basketball-programs-reportedly-could-turn-up-in-fbis-investigation/?utm_term=.59e008e422a9

DiNitto Omnisport, M. (2018, February 23). Duke, UNC, Kentucky among colleges named in FBI investigation into recruiting scandal. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/news/college-basketball-scandal-duke-north-carolina-michigan-state-andy-miller-christian-dawkins/1rbuw6zo74l1z1knjyb96x4prw

Murphy, B., & Irby, K. (2018, February 27). The FBI is investigating college basketball recruiting practices. Now Congress is too. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article202467669.html

Rapaport, D. (2018, February 24). Every current player implicated in the FBI's NCAA hoops probe. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2018/02/24/college-basketball-scandal-fbi-probe-players-involved

Sherman, M. (2018, February 23). Everything you need to know about the college basketball scandal. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22555512/explaining-ncaa-college-basketball-scandal-players-coaches-agents

Monday, April 3, 2017

Baylor University Football: Sexual Assault Scandal (2016)

*Note: For the purpose of this exercise, the case study will examine the events leading up to May 26, 2016. Any details reported after that date will not be considered in this blog.

Case Overview

The 2014 Baylor Bears celebrating their Big 12 Conference Championship victory

Baylor University is a private Baptist institution in Waco, Texas that has an undergraduate enrollment of 14,189 students. The Bears participate in 19 intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division 1 level as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Their most prominent athletic program is their football team, which had an impressive 40-11 record from 2012-2015. During this time span the Bears were consistently ranked in the top 25 of college football’s highest division. They won two Big 12 Conference Championships, played in both the Fiesta and Cotton Bowl’s, and boasted a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Robert Griffin III.

However, the football program’s success was put on the back burner when the University announced that then head football coach, Art Briles, and University President, Ken Starr, were relieved from duty on May 26, 2016. Their dismissal came after the release of a nearly 9 month long external review conducted by Philadelphia based lawyer Pepper Hamilton. The report found evidence that the

Left: Ken Starr / Right: Art Briles

University neglected to follow Title IX procedure in relation to several sexual assault cases filed against Baylor football players. The incidences in question included three prominent players: Tevin Elliot, Sam Ukwuachu, and Shawn Oakman. Elliot was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for two separate sexual assaults committed against Baylor students in 2012. Ukwuachu was indicted on two counts of sexual assault in 2014. He served 180 days in a county jail and has 10 years of felony probation. Oakman was indicted by a grand jury on charges of second-degree felony sexual assault in 2016 and has yet to be convicted on the charges.

Despite the egregious acts committed by these three players, the real ethical issue at hand involves the coaches and administrators who failed to comply with NCAA rules and ultimately cultivated an environment that encouraged athlete misconduct. In particular, the University neglected to comply with the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA). Furthermore, Baylor failed “within both the football program

The popular Title IX logo that appears on college campuses across the country

and Athletics Department leadership, including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player, to take action in response to reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, and to take action in response to a report of dating violence.” Essentially, the athletic department failed to institute NCAA mandated procedures when handling sexual assault allegations against its student-athletes. Members of the football staff flat out allowed these players to remain part of their program despite being aware of their murky legal status. Not to mention the fact that both Ukwuachu and Oakman were transfer students recruited to play at Baylor after having legal trouble at their previous colleges.

Stakeholders

There are several notable stakeholders in this particular case, listed in order from the largest group to single individuals. The football community as a whole was impacted by this case, because its current reputation of being rough individuals was further perpetuated by this issue. The Waco, Texas, community can

Current and former students at a rally to protest sexual assault
on the Baylor University campus

be considered a stakeholder of this case, because the safety of their citizens is now in question. Baylor University including its students, staff, and alumni were affected by this case, because of their inherent proximity to the issue. The football team, both players and staff, are stakeholders of this case, because they are directly involved with the problem. Specifically, head coach Art Briles and several members of his staff lost their jobs and had their reputation obliterated by this incident. Former University president Ken Starr, athletic director Ian McCaw, and several other Baylor staff members also lost their jobs, because of this problem. Last, but certainly not least, the women who were victims of these crimes had to suffer with little support from the University.

Individualism

Individualism is an ethical theory primarily focused on Friedman’s Economic Theory. Individualists seek to make ethical decisions based on how they impact the finances and public opinion of the company. In this particular case the company in question is Baylor University and it is without

A well-circulated advertisement that appeared on several social media platforms

a doubt that the University was negatively affected both financially and in the court of public opinion. According to a financial analysis commissioned by Bears for Leadership Reform, a group of notable donors, the scandal will cost the school at least $223 million. These costs include legal fees, public relations costs, fines and sanctions, settlements with employees, and other costs associated with the scandal. Such a significant loss outweighs the revenue generated by the theoretical extra success brought to the team by improperly disciplining its players and allowing them to remain on the football roster. An individualist would recognize how these decisions negatively impacted the schools profit margin and would consequently rule the actions of the coaches and administrators as unethical.

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism seeks to make decisions based on how the outcome will affect the happiness of the majority of the stakeholders involved. For this case, one must consider that during the years where

A happy group of Baylor fans cheering on the Bears football team

the misconduct was taking place that the success of the football program made basically every stakeholder happy. What must be evaluated is if that short-lived happiness outweighs the long term sorrow that comes with a highly publicized national scandal of this caliber. For the majority of the stakeholders it does not. Therefore, a utilitarian would claim that although there was a brief period of happiness for all those involved, the decisions made by the administrators and football staff members in question actually brought an immense amount of long term shame to the university. Therefore, their actions would be deemed unethical according to a utilitarian.

Kantianism

Kantianism is probably the most complicated of the four ethical theories discussed in this blog post. This school of thought is all about rationality and operating with goodwill. To evaluate decisions from a Kantian perspective, ethical theorists use the formula of humanity to assess decisions. This

A visual representation of the NCAA rule book, containing the bylaws
ignored by Baylor administrators and football staff members

formula examines the relationship between the means and end result of one’s decision making process. In this particular case the administrators and football staff members knowingly took advantage of a flawed system at the expense of several young women who were assaulted by football players, all to win football games. The Kantian perspective would recognize that this is irrational, because clearly written NCAA rules were broken and individual rights were not respected. Subsequently, a Kantian would consider this case to be unethical.

Virtue Theory

Virtue Theory is in large part based on Aristotle’s Ethics. A virtue theorist considers the function and circumstances involved with a specific decision. Moreover, a virtue theorist looks at the four primary virtues when evaluating a decision. These four virtues are courage, honesty, temperance, and justice.

An image presented by ESPN's Outside The Lines,quoting
Briles in an interview following his termination as
head football coach at Baylor University

In this particular case the administrators and coaches in question certainly took a risk, but they did so on the wrong end of the courage-spectrum. They failed to stand for what was right and opted for the cowardice route that ultimately lead to their occupational demise. They obviously were not practicing honesty, as they intentionally misreported facts to their superiors. Their temperance was flawed, because they created a culture that failed to live up to the standards declared reasonable by the NCAA. Perhaps least virtuous of all, they did not comply whatsoever with the justice virtue. Their actions encouraged corner-cutting and discouraged hard work, while operating in a consistent state of unfairness towards the rest of the competition. It is for these reasons that a virtue theorists would consider this whole case as unethical.

Justified Ethics Evaluation
As a college football player I understand why Baylor University administrators and football staff members broke the rules. The ultra-competitive environment fostered at the Division 1 level encourages smaller schools, like Baylor, to gain an edge wherever they can. It's the only way they can compete with juggernauts like Alabama, Michigan, and Notre Dame, who have more prominent programs that receive more funding and better resources. However, with the current climate in football at the collegiate and professional level, it's hard to comprehend how decision makers can allow this type of issue to go by the way side. "Sexual assault" and "football player" are appearing more frequently in news headlines across the country. Huge penalties are being levied on the programs and players involved in these types of cases and with that said, it's hard to see how these individuals thought their decisions were justified.

Works Cited

Braziller, Zach. "'Horrifying' details of Baylor sexual assault scandal revealed." 28 October 2016. New York Post. http://nypost.com/2016/10/28/horrifying-details-of-baylor-sexual-assault-scandal-revealed/. 30 January 2017.

CBS News. "Baylor sex assault scandal far worse than previously disclosed." 31 October 2016. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/baylor-official-addresses-mishandled-sexual-assault-allegation-against-star-football-player/. 30 January 2017.

Ellis, Zac. "A timeline of the Baylor sexual assault scandal." 26 May 2016. Sports Illustrated. http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/05/26/baylor-art-briles-sexual-assault-ken-starr. 30 January 2017.

Kirk, Jason. "We finally know more about why Baylor fired Art Briles." 28 October 2016. SB Nation. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/10/28/13460830/art-briles-fired-baylor-coach-report. 30 January 2017.

Regents, Baylor University Board of. "The Facts." August 2016. Baylor University: Our

Commitment. Our Response. http://www.baylor.edu/thefacts/. 3 March 2017.