Philosophy, Sport and the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on every aspect of our social, cultural, and commercial lives, including the world of sport. This book examines the ethical and philosophical dimensions of the intersection of COVID-19 and sport. The book goes beyond simple description of the impact of the pandemic on sport to offer normative judgments on how the sporting world responded to challenges posed by COVID-19, as well as philosophical speculation as to how COVID-19 will change our understanding and appreciation of sport in the long term. It examines the considerations that either influenced-or arguably should have influenced-decisions to continue or to resume the playing of organized sport in the midst of a pandemic. As a part of this analysis, a spotlight is shone on how sport intersected with political issues surrounding COVID-19. It also explores the configuration and meaning of sport in the COVID-19 era, touching on themes such as the nature of sport and its integrity and sport's relationship to technology. Other themes include the changed nature of spectatorship, suffering in sport during pandemic times, and the impact of COVID-19 on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A final chapter looks ahead and asks what sport might look like in a post-COVID world. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in the ethics and philosophy of sport, the sociology of sport, event studies, politics, or public health.

Jeffrey P. Fry is Professor of Philosophy at Ball State University, United States. Andrew Edgar is Emeritus Reader in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at Cardiff University, UK, and Honorary Faculty Member in the School of Sport and Exercise Science at Swansea University, UK.

Introduction, Part I: To Play or Not to Play..., 1. High School Sport, COVID-19, Paternalism, and Harm to Others, 2. Autonomy, Paternalism, and the Dilemmas of Pandemic Sport, 3. Big Ten Football's Decision to Reinstate its Season: How to Run the Reverse, 4. COVID-19 Unmasks the NCAA's Collegiate Model Myth, 5. Black Bodies, Dueling Pandemics, and the Hidden Rules for White Profit in the NBA: Do Black Lives Really Matter?, 6. COVID-19, Sport, and Ethics: The Case of the Australian Open 2021, 7. COVID-19, Risk, and Nature Sports: Pandemic Dilemmas, 8. Sport, COVID-19, and Acceptable Risk, Part II: Sport Today and Tomorrow, 9. Watching Sport During COVID-19, 10. COVID-19 and the Integrity of Football, 11. COVID-19 and How Best to Complete the 2019-20 Football Season, 12. The Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Fairness and Fair Play for Olympic Athletes Training for the Tokyo Olympic Games, 13. Ascetic Cycling and Meaningful Suffering in Pandemic Times: Happy Sisyphus, 14. COVID-19, Lip Gloss, and the Threat to Women's Sport, 15. What a Pandemic Might Teach Us About Using Animals for Sport, 16. Rethinking Sport Ethics in a Complex Post-Pandemic World, Coda