“The Ethics of Sports: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”

As a life-long sports fan, Hugh Taft-Morales is challenged to address the many ethical issues that arise around athletics in the United States. His experience playing football, hockey, and lacrosse, led him to believe that it all helped him effectively channel his aggression. But is this just an excuse to justify his current habit of watching sports? Are some sports less ethical than others? What are the greatest ethical issues surrounding sports: The violence? The abuse of college athletes as a tool for raising revenue? The diversion of resources away from more important priorities such as the health and education of our children? What’s wrong with being a fanatical sports fan?

Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader. He also serves as Leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. His presence in Ethical Culture has been termed “invigorating.” Taft-Morales lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife Maureen, a Latin American Analyst with the Congressional Research Service, with whom he has three beloved children, Sean, Maya, and Justin.