Team 1, MMA

Preview

Wednesday we will hear the presentation on cheerleading.  

Friday we will start reading Good Sport: How Our Games Matter and Why Doping Undermines Them by Thomas Murray.  The book is about doping, but also about many other issues--

• when does technical equipment confer an unfair advantage?
• who should participate in the Paralympics, not the Olympics?
• should men and women compete in different categories?
• what should be the rules that apply to trans and intersex women?
• should athletes be able to enhance themselves in every conceivable way?

The library has helped us out by providing access to the digital version.  Use this link to access it or access through the syllabus.

Friday we will be talking about the types of doping Lance Armstrong engaged in to win the Tour de France seven times.  If you have time and access, please watch the documentary The Armstrong Lie.


Mixed Martial Arts Presentation

Slides

Nicholas Dixon, "Internalism and External Moral Evaluation of Violent Sport"






Discussion topic (when we have time)

Are we exploiting delivery workers or other food workers when we order nonessential food during the pandemic?

Cases of exploitation we've already discussed (exploiter.....exploited)

1. Hand sanitizer gougers.....people who bought on Amazon
2. Prison.......prisoners who pay high prices to send email
3. SMU law school.......lawyers who teach for free (there was doubt about this)
4. Jeffrey Epstein ......  14 year old girls 
5. Colleges ......... athletes

Theories of exploitation we've discussed

5.  Failure to protect the vulnerable 

8.  Gaining by using and thereby harming 

7.  Taking unfair advantage, whether or not consensual and mutually beneficial 

12. One side has large gains, the other side has small gains plus significant risks

When we place these orders during the pandemic are we like the exploiters in list #1? Do we fit the theories of exploitation in list #2?

Exploitation, Continued

Recap of this week

1. Theories about what exploitation is and under what conditions it's occurring (Wertheimer article).  
2. Focused on 5 (gaining while not protecting the vulnerable), 8 (gaining as a result of using and harming), 7 (gaining by taking unfair advantage)
3. Application of theories to four non-sport cases: Hand Sanitizer, Prisoner Email, Free Law Professors, Jeffrey Epstein
4. Application of theories to cases of four athletes: are some/all exploited? Many thought these two were (especially):

• Silas Nacita (Baylor walk-on FB player who accepted housing from family friend and lost place on team)
• Nick Richards (high school student who has to wear Nike sneakers because coach has profitable sponsorship deal--all profits are his)

Today's Agenda

1. New NCAA rules about profiting from image and likeness--do they solve some of the exploitation problem?
2. Coach behavior--when is it exploitative?
3. A question about exploitation and the pandemic
4. Presentation break-out sessions

The Case for Exploitation, using definition 12

1. Athletes are rewarded far less than schools and coaches. [True? Is the picture fair?]
2. This results from social relations of unequal power.
3. People do become student athletes voluntarily and it can be advantageous to them.
4. But because of 1 and 2, it's still true that they are exploited.

Will the NCAA's new rules reduce the exploitation?

• How will the new rules work?
• Is there any downside?  Topics covered in RRs: revenue-negative college sports, team dynamics

Verbally abusive coaches  

1. Verbal abuse is a form of exploitation
2. Verbal abuse is wrong, but not a form of exploitation
3. Verbal abuse is just talk, and not wrong

A question about the pandemic and exploitation  

A lot of us are stuck in our homes, feeling bored.  One way to alleviate the boredom is to order things from restaurants, grocery stores, Amazon, etc. When we do this, we remain safe in our homes, while those doing the work and making the delivery take the risk of being infected.  Of course, they are paid, and they could quit.  What can I order without being guilty of exploitation?

1. Nothing--we should leave the house if we need something and assume the risks ourselves.
2. Just necessities--drugs, necessary food, and the like.
3. Anything--food from our favorite restaurants, clothes from Amazon, whatever.

Give it some thought over the weekend, as you find yourself (a) ordering things or perhaps (b) delivering things. 

Presentation break-out

1. Teams 1 and 2 need to get ready for presentations Monday and Wednesday.
2. Teams 3 and 4 should finalize readings and come up with a time to meet me early next week.  Do all of this in your google doc. I have added some comments in your doc. 
3. Teams 5 and 6 should be planning ahead!
4. If anybody needs to talk to me, I'll be here during the break-out sessions and can be added to the session. Use chat to ask me to join.
5. Links are below:

Are Student Athletes Exploited?

THEORIZING ABOUT EXPLOITATION

Exploitation: just one way that A can wrong B

Exploiting is just one way of wronging

How to characterize the exploitation subset of wronging? (last time + article)

5. The not-protecting-the-vulnerable view (Goodin)

 8. The using-and-harming view (Munzer)

7. The taking-unfair-advantage view (Feinberg, Wertheimer)

STUDENT ATHLETE (MOVIE)

HBO description--movie is making a case for exploitation

WHO IS EXPLOITED?

All are--10 votes
None are-1 vote
Silas Nacita especially exploited--3 votes
Nick Richards especially exploited--2 votes
Shamar Graves not exploited--2 votes
Are you exploited?--half yes, half no

Silas Nacita

Nick Richards

Shamar Graves

Mike Shaw

College Sports and Exploitation

Read: Nicas, “He Has 17,700 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer”  WEB (best) or PDF; and Alan Wertheimer, “Exploitation” (read sections 1 and 2) WEB  RR 

###

OUR QUESTION FOR THIS WEEK:  ARE STUDENT ATHLETES EXPLOITED?

First we need to think about exploitation more generally. For that purpose, we're using an entry by Alan Wertheimer in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (a great resource).  

Next time: apply ideas to student athletes.  You need to watch Student Athlete (movie). Follow link in syllabus to library's free access.


Exploitation

Some useful distinctions made by Wertheimer

1. Truth Conditions vs. Moral Force
• Under what conditions is it true that A exploits B?  (i.e. what is the definition?)
• When you say A exploits B, what's the moral upshot? How strong is the condemnation? What should be done about it?
2. One-on-one vs. Class-on-class
• "person A exploited person B" (one-on-one)
• "the wealthy exploit the poor" (class-on-class)

Mostly we'll be discussing truth conditions and one-on-one exploitation today.

Theories vs. Cases

We need a theory to help us thinking about cases.
We need cases to help us generate a theory.

START WITH SOME POSSIBLE CASES

1. Hand Sanitizer Gouging. Colvin brothers collected hand sanitizer and tried to sell on Amazon at high price before they were stopped.

2. Prison Prices. A facebook friend of mine wrote:

3. Free Law Professors.  SMU law school pays Dallas lawyers nothing to teach a course.

4. Jeffrey Epstein.  He paid 14 year old girls for massages and sexual services. Also, Harvey Weinstein, who was recently convicted of raping two women.

NOW FOR SOME THEORIES

16 accounts are listed in "Exploitation", section 2. 

• The three most popular in the RRs: 5, 7, 8
• Other favorites: 1, 3, 4, 13, 15, 16

APPLYING TO HAND SANITIZER CASE

Were the Colvin brothers involved in exploiting people? 18 said YES, 2 said NO.

Yes, using definition 5. Exploiters violate "the moral norm of protecting the vulnerable."  

No, using definition 8. An exploiter uses B a tool or resource, causing B to be seriously harmed.  

Another No, using definition 8.

Yes, using definition 7.   A turns some property of B to A's advantage, but B doesn't have to be vulnerable or harmed.

WERTHEIMER'S VIEWS

He seems to subscribe to definition 7 as a starting point for his own theory, which he develops in his book Exploitation.

When A exploits B,

1. A unfairly takes advantage of B
2. Exploitation can be consensual or non-consensual (as in #7)

• consensual: the customers who buy hand sanitizer at high prices
• non-consensual: Jeffrey Epstein paying 14 year olds for sexual services

3. Exploitation can make B better off or worse off  (as in #7)

• better off--people who have hand sanitizer 
• worse off--Epstein's victims

4. Moral force of saying "that's exploitation!" will vary

On Wertheimer's view of exploitation, are the prisoners exploited?
On Wertheimer's view of exploitation, are the free law professors exploited?

Student Athletes
Use the concepts above to think about the four athletes in the movie.

1. If you draw on definition 5, a key issue is whether student athletes are vulnerable.
2. If you draw on definition 8, a key issue is whether student athletes are harmed.  Are they worse off for being student athletes?
3. If you draw on definition 7, it doesn't matter if they're better off and they consent. They could still be exploited.

Going Online

Basics

1. Adapting.  I plan on running this class so you have the feeling we still have a cohesive class.  You're a great bunch of students and I want you to be able to continue "seeing" each other in class, talking to each other, sharing your sports experience, etc. On the other hand, requirements are going to have to be adapted to our new circumstances to some degree.  
2. Class meetings.  We will meet at our regular time--MWF 1:00 Central Time--using Zoom (see below).
3. Attendance. I will continue taking attendance, but will approach absences in a different way than before.  Please communicate with me if you must miss class. I will also communicate with you if you are not attending. I will regard a good attendance record as a "plus" when I calculate final grades.  
4. Syllabus.  Make sure you use the online version of the syllabus, since I have made quite a few changes.
5. Book. Soon we'll be reading Good Sport, by Thomas Murray. If you didn't bring your copy, that's fine.  The library has kindly offered to get the e-book for us. It should be available soon.
6. RRs. The deadline is still 10:00 am (central time). A few of the RRs have been cancelled.
7. Presentations.  See below.
8. Final exam. The final will be done at Canvas.  
9. Suggestion box. Please feel free to give me feedback about the policies I'm outlining in this post. If you think something should be done differently, I'll either make the change you suggest or explain why I've adopted the policy.

How to Join Zoom Classes

1. Getting in. The Zoom url will be the same for every class meeting.  It's available at Canvas. (Only at Canvas because apparently "zoombombing" is a thing. We'll move to password protection if we need to.)
2. The app.  You'll need to download it before you join any meetings.  Add it to all your devices.  
3. Trouble? Clicking on the url should get you in, but if you have trouble, use the alternatives in the full invitation at Canvas.
4. Recording. I'll be recording class meetings for various reasons. I can make the recordings available upon request.

Zoom Features

1. Muting, unmuting. When you join the Zoom meeting, you'll initially be unmuted.  It will probably be noisy so I may mute everyone.
2. Raising your hand.  On a laptop, tap "participants" and you'll see the option. On a phone, tap "more" and you'll find it.  On my end the icon indicating your hand is raised is very small, so bear with me.  Just raise your real hand if necessary!
3. Chatting. You can contribute a written comment using the chat function.
4. Sharing.  You can share what's on your screen using "Share." For example, you can share your Google Slides that way (when doing presentations).

Using Zoom for Meetings

1. Presentation meetings.  We'll have some "break out" presentation meetings during class time. You can also use Zoom to set up your own meetings. In fact, you could use our Zoom url if you wanted to.  Those non-class meetings are not recorded.
2. Office hours. Also by Zoom. At the usual time (1-1:30) and by appointment.  I'm also always available by email.

Presentations

1. The show must go on.  Since you can get oral communication credit for taking this course, we must have oral presentations.  Besides, the six topics are great!  It would be a shame to skip all that good material.
2. Dates. We will have just one presentation per class instead of two, so some of the dates have been changed.  See to the right/below.
   
3. Interviews? It's going to be harder to interview people, but do what you can. You may have to rely on your other resources, such as videos, to learn about the ethical issues that come up in the sport.
4. Oral aspect.  Because of the circumstances, you won't be graded on the stylistic aspects of your oral presentation. Just walk us through your slides.

Zooming Presentations

1. Slides. First, collaboratively create a Google Slides Presentation (or use other software). Each person adds the slides they want to present.
2. Share screen. During the Zoom session, one of the presenters uses "share" so we all see the presentation.  
3. Talking about the slides. Each presenter discusses their slides for about 4-5 minutes.
4. Discussion. Afterwards, we all discuss the presentation.

Other Options for Presentations

1. Add narration to your slides.  You can't do that in Google Slides, but you can do that with Powerpoint and with other programs.
2. Put presentation at blog. Everyone would then watch it on their own, prior to a Zoom discussion.
3. Less stressful? Technically this option is harder, but it may be preferable to some groups to avoid the stress of doing a live presentation. Bear in mind that you won't be graded on oral style. 

Outlawing Sports/CTE Background

Question this week: Is football so dangerous that it should be outlawed?

CTE background

Joe Ward et al, “110 NFL Brains” ;  Collecting the brains (TED talk)
Michael Powell,  “This Helmet Will save Football. Actually Probably Not”




Ethical background

Which categories of behavior is a government justified in restricting?

Some useful distinctions

• Deliberate, accidental
• Causing, creating risk
• Non-consensual, consensual
• Other-harming, self-harming

(A) Other-harming behavior

1. Committing murder
2. Going to party while awaiting results after being tested for coronavirus (Dartmouth case)
3. Leaving lock down area after quarantine orders (northern Italy)
4. Participating in a duel

Wikipedia

(B) Self-harming behavior

1. Participating in a duel
2. Riding motorcycle without helmet
3. Driving without seatbelts
4. Drinking huge sodas

(C) Offensive but not harmful (we won't discuss)

(D) Immoral but not harmful (we won't discuss)

Positions

Libertarianism: liberty of adults may only be limited in (A) cases (other-harming), not in (B) cases (self-harming).

• John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859) 

Paternalism:  liberty may be limited in both (A) cases and (B) cases.  

• Sarah Conly, Against Autonomy ( 2013)

Next time

1. Sarah Conly chapter
• Her argument for Paternalism
• Two forms of Paternalism: coercive vs. liberal.
• Why she favors coercive
2. Does football fall in class (A) or (B)?
3. In principle, should football be outlawed?
4. What about other dangerous sports? Free solo climbing, boxing, etc.