Social Science Personal Research Assignment
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CaseStudy5-2Theresnoreligioninbaseball.edited.rtf1
Case Study 5-2 “There’s no religion in baseball”
Micheaux Hollingsworth
SMGT 503
Liberty University
July 21, 2024
Introduction
Religion in youth sports has been a big concern, as illustrated in the case of Little League in Medford, Oregon. A parent removed his son from Coach Chris Palmer's team due to Palmer's religious influence, which involved praying with the players and citing the Bible. This state of affairs gives rise to profound ethical and moral dilemmas as to the role of religion in youth sports. As with many issues related to freedom of speech and religion, the rights of individuals and the rights of the community at large, especially children participating in youth sports leagues, have to be protected and upheld. While some people consider prayer as a benevolent force that only has a unifying and protective function, others regard it as an imposition that may offend and/or exclude participants with other beliefs (Harvey & Light, 2012). It is, therefore, important to understand this balance to ensure that youth sports are not a place where people of one faith feel they have the license to disrespect people of other faiths or no faith at all. The purpose of this paper is to identify the ethical issues and recommend feasible strategies to address religious diversity in a youth sports context.
Issues
The team prayed before games with the team's coach, Chris Palmer, citing verses from the Bible, which was regarded as an attempt to force his religion on the players. A parent, Mike, complained that the rights of parents who want to raise their children as they see fit were violated. The factual questions pertain to the scope and character of Coach Palmer's religious observances and whether the parents were apprised of such practices and their children's participation therein. Mike said that he was never told about the religious activities and never agreed to his child to be involved.
The case then raises the question of what it means to have religious freedom in a public sphere such as youth sports (Scharenberg, 2002). It includes knowing whether the religious gestures made by Coach Palmer were violating the rights of the individual religious liberty of players. This issue will include the rights of an individual to practice their religion and the rights of other individuals or groups to have a secular organization that does not impose religious views in a public sporting organization. The major stakeholders are the young athletes, their parents, the head coach, Palmer, and the Little League. In turn, the young athletes are the ones who are directly affected by religious activities. The parents have different beliefs and expectations regarding their children's interaction with religious activities in a public sports context. The coach practices what he preaches with regard to integrating his religion into his coaching. The organization that oversees the management of the sport and sets the rules and guidelines for its practice to be as impartial as possible for all parties involved.
Options
This case raises several conceptual issues, and there are different views on the case. The rationale of people who support religious freedoms might be to say that such things as prayers for safety are not wrong and should be encouraged (Walseth, 2016). On the other hand, critics argue that any type of religious practice in a public sporting environment is wrong and discriminatory. The main alternative actions are to permit generic prayers that do not refer to a specific religion, to prohibit all religious practices in order to be all-inclusive, to demand the parents' permission for any religious observance, or to replace prayers with a moment of silent reflection. There are a number of facts that remain unknown, or their authenticity might be questioned, which would affect the decision made in this case. It is not clear exactly what prayers were said by Coach Palmer and the manner in which they were delivered based on the information given. Knowing the exact words said by the players and if the prayers did endorse one religion over the other could help identify when the latter had been breached. It is also not clear if the children of other religions on the team were able to decline the prayers and, if so, if they were able to do so without being stigmatized.
Ethical and Moral Arguments
Examining this case from different ethical perspectives highlights the ethical issues involved. Egoism may vindicate the coach's actions if they are perceived as having a positive impact on his values and behaviors. This means that natural law could justify the actions of the coach if they correspond to the moral norms of the coach. According to the principle of utilitarianism, which determines the greatest good for the largest number of people, it can be recommended to ban religious practices to minimize exclusion. Respect for persons focuses on the dignity and rights of all people, which may be used to argue against certain religious practices or for the implementation of secular ones. Respect for autonomy, non-malice, and justice serve as the moral parameters of the decision-making process and the rights of the individuals, and they should not be harmed as there may be people who feel forced to participate in religious activities. Ethical and moral values usually produce similar conclusions concerning what ought to be done in a given situation. Both respect for persons and utilitarianism emphasize equal regard for all individuals and their values, which means that religious practices should not be introduced to a public youth sports setting.
Conclusion
Based on the various arguments of the case and the ethical analysis, the best course of action is to prohibit any religious activities during youth sports events. This way, everyone is accommodated, and the rights of free speech and the thoughts of all individuals are observed. However, a moment of silence can be provided so that one can think or pray in his/her own way and in his/her own words. An argument against the proposed ban could be that restricting religious practices violates the freedom of speech. However, in a setting that is open and involves young people, as is the case with youth sports, it is important that none of the actions taken are in any way construed as forceful or discriminative. Maintaining neutrality to avoid violation of any person's rights and to encourage equal acceptance of the other. Supporting this decision, Romans 14:19 (NIV) states, "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification," and Galatians 5:14 (NIV) emphasizes, "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "You shall not commit murder," "Do not defraud," "Love your neighbor as yourself." Such scriptures emphasize the need to promote peace, respect people, and even love them, which are part of the ethical decisions that should be made to ensure that youth sports are inclusive.
References
Harvey, S., & Light, R. L. (Eds.). (2012). Ethics in Youth Sport. Routledge.
Scharenberg, S. (2002). Religion and sport. In The international politics of sport in the twentieth century (pp. 100-114). Routledge.
Walseth, K. (2016). Sport, youth and religion. In Routledge handbook of youth sport (pp. 297-307). Routledge.
