Ethical issues arising from sponsorship

Ethical Considerations in Sports Sponsorship

Influence of sponsors: Sponsorships can unduly influence a sport or athlete, affecting the integrity of the sporting event. For example, sponsors dictating game schedules or player appearances.
Sponsorship from controversial companies: Accepting sponsorship from companies associated with harmful products, such as alcohol or cigarettes, or those with poor human rights or environmental records, can harm the sport’s or athlete’s reputation.
Health-related sponsors: The promotion of unhealthy foods/drinks through sports sponsorship can send mixed messages, particularly to young fans, about the importance of a healthy lifestyle in sport.
Discrimination risks: Sponsorships should not encourage discriminative behaviours. For example, male sports often receive more sponsorship than female sports, which can contribute to gender inequality in sport.
Unfair Advantage: Teams or individuals with wealthy sponsors may gain an unfair advantage from superior equipment or training facilities.

Ethical decision-making: Teams and organisations need to consider ethical implications when choosing sponsors. Check the sponsor’s ethical track record and their alignment with your sport’s values.
Transparency and disclosure: Transparency is key to maintaining trust and managing expectations. Sponsors, teams and athletes should always disclose the full details of their sponsorship agreements to avoid controversy.
Balancing commercial needs and ethical responsibility: This requires an understanding that financial gain should not override ethical considerations. Achieving success at any cost can have detrimental effects.
Equality in sponsorship: Efforts should be made to reduce inequalities in sports sponsorship, challenging gender, race, or disability biases in the allocation of sponsorship.
Educational roles: Sports entities must balance the promotion of sponsors while maintaining their responsibility to promote healthy and positive lifestyle choices especially amongst their youthful supporters.

Remember, in any decision involving sponsorship, the reputation and values of the sport and athletes concerned are potentially at risk.