Many of the general issues addressed in management and ethics classes arise in the context of sports. Today, there are over one hundred organizations around the country which have programs in Sports Studies and still more institutions which devote courses to the study of sport. It is a rapidly growing academic area in physical education, philosophy, management and business programs. Sports and Society is designed to support courses offered in each of these disciplines as well as interdisciplinary programs where sport is studied. Since sports play a significant role in the lives of millions of people throughout the world, sports are significant forms of social activities and they raise a wide range of issues.
Some issues are factual and some are explanatory.
For example, a sociologist may be concerned with whether or not sports affect particular aspects of society while psychologists may be concerned with personality features which contribute to an individual's success or failure in sport. There are issues in sports that are conceptual and ethical in nature. Conceptual questions ask how we understand the concepts and ideas that apply to the world of sports. Ethical questions raise moral concerns. Most of the factual and ethical issues relating to sports are also management challenges.