Ethics, genetic testing, and athletic talent: children's best interests, and the right to an open (athletic) future

In this paper we discuss the ethics of genetics-based talent identification programs in sports. We discuss the validity and reliability of the tests and the claims made by direct to consumer companies, before presenting a range of ethical issues concerning child-parent/guardian relations raised by these tests, which we frame in terms of parental/guardian duties, children's rights, and best interests. We argue that greater ethical emphasis needs to be put on the parental decision on the wellbeing on the child going forward, not on ex post justifications on the basis of good and bad consequences. Best interests decisions made by a third party seem to comprise both subjective and objective elements, but only a holistic approach can do justice to these questions by addressing the wellbeing of the child in a temporal manner and taking into account the child's perspective on its wellbeing. Such decisions must address wider questions of what a good (sports)parent ought do to help the child flourish and how to balance the future-adult focus necessary to nurture talent with the wellbeing of the child in the present. We conclude that current genetic tests for “talent” do not predict aptitude or success to any significant degree and are therefore only marginally pertinent for talent identification. Claims that go beyond current science are culpable and attempt to exploit widespread but naïve perceptions of the efficacy of genetics information to predict athletic futures. Sports physicians and health care professionals involved in sport medicine should therefore discourage the use of these tests

International Olympic Committee consensus statement on pain management in elite athletes

Pain is a common problem among elite athletes and is frequently associated with sport injury. Both pain and injury interfere with the performance of elite athletes. There are currently no evidence-based or consensus-based guidelines for the management of pain in elite athletes. Typically, pain management consists of the provision of analgesics, rest and physical therapy. More appropriately, a treatment strategy should address all contributors to pain including underlying pathophysiology, biomechanical abnormalities and psychosocial issues, and should employ therapies providing optimal benefit and minimal harm. To advance the development of a more standardised, evidence-informed approach to pain management in elite athletes, an IOC Consensus Group critically evaluated the current state of the science and practice of pain management in sport and prepared recommendations for a more unified approach to this important topic

Paralympism, Disability and the Ethics of Elective Amputation

Mike McNamee, professor of applied ethics at Swansea University, offers a critique on paralympism in the context of the International Paralympic Charter\u27s four stated values: courage, determination, inspiration, and equality. He discusses two specific cases arising from paralympic sports involving amputation of limbs either to enhance sporting performance or to enable disability sport membership of an otherwise able-bodied person by the use of elective surgery. McNamee argues that disability sports organizations should ban such practices and better articulate their value base in order to preserve the integrity of disability sports

Hubris, humility, and humiliation : vice and virtue in sporting communities

Etude philosophique : l'athlète, le champion face à la défaite sportive. Orgueil et sentiment d'humiliation (effets sur l'estime de soi), importance du concept d'honneur (comparaison avec des sociétés dont la hiérarchie est fondée sur un code de l'honneur), étude d'un cas, le combat de boxe entre Duran et Léonard

Olympism, Doping and the Spirit of Sport

Olympism is said to be a philosophy of life blending sport, education, and culture. It seems that under the philosophy of Olympism, doping, including genetic manipulation, should be sanctioned in order to continue pushing the limits of athletic achievement. Mike McNamee, professor of applied ethics at Swansea University, argues that the concept of limits, informed both by Olympism and human nature, ought to provide a structure within which athletic excellence is admired both technically and ethically and that unfettered pursuit of athletic enhancement should be limited by an appreciation for the nature and value of the spirit of sport

Hubris, humility, and humiliation : vice and virtue in sporting communities

Etude philosophique : l'athlète, le champion face à la défaite sportive. Orgueil et sentiment d'humiliation (effets sur l'estime de soi), importance du concept d'honneur (comparaison avec des sociétés dont la hiérarchie est fondée sur un code de l'honneur), étude d'un cas, le combat de boxe entre Duran et Léonard

Philosophy of Sports Medicine

The focus of this chapter is on the philosophy of Sports Medicine, that is, the practice of medicine in the context of sport. The chapter begins by examining ways in which a distinction in kind can be claimed between Sports Medicine and medicine per se. It does this by focussing first on the goals of medicine. This strategy proves to be indecisive, and it is concluded that a difference in degree only, rather than in kind, can be claimed for Sports Medicine. However, when the focus is directed to the normative aspects of medicine per se, in comparison with Sports Medicine, important differences can be identified. These differences concern, especially, the way in which normative concepts central to medicine per se are operationalized in Sports Medicine. It is shown how norms regarding privacy, confidentiality, autonomy, and paternalism all apply in significantly different ways in the sporting context. Parallel differences are also identified in relation to the therapy/enhancement distinction. The problem of balancing current sporting goals against long-term health is also discussed