The Business Ethics Blog

So, the 2016 Olympics are over. And while the Olympics always seem to serve up their share of controversy, this year’s event in Rio seems to have had more than the usual quantum of troubles. In fact, the Rio Olympics featured enough scandals and ethical dilemmas to keep a university Moral Issues course going for two full semesters.

The ethical issues at Rio began, of course, long before the Olympics did. To start, there was the controversy over holding a multi-billion dollar event in an underdeveloped country in the midst of political turmoil. And as the games approached, serious concerns were raised about the lack of essential infrastructure, not to mention lack of plausible assurances about safety and security.

Other concerns focused on the the dangers posed by the Zika virus. Experts pleaded with the International Olympic Committee to delay or move the 2016 Olympics, fearing that letting the Rio games go on as planned could accelerate a burgeoning pandemic.

Ethical issues also tainted the competitive aspects of Rio, before the games even started: Russia’s entire track and field team was banned from participating, over concerns regarding widespread, systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Once the Olympics began, well, things didn’t improve quickly. From day one there were concerns for example about security, and about the badly polluted water at the games’ sailing venue.

Ethical questions extended to media coverage as well. There was widespread criticism on social media of seemingly rampant sexism in how reporters covered the games. When American sharpshooter Corey Cogdell won a bronze medal in trapshooting, the Chicago Tribune referred to her not by name, but merely as “Wife of a [Chicago] Bears’ lineman.”

But back to safety. Predictions that safety would be a problem were not entirely unfounded. Take for instance the day that stray bullets zinged into the Olympic equestrian centre, narrowly missing causing injury or death. In retrospect, the fact that Ryan Lochte’s falsely reported being robbed overshadowed the fact that many people really were worried about hosting the Olympics in a city that really can’t claim to have crime under control.

And then there was the corruption. The IOC has, of course, a checkered past in this regard. The organization has been widely criticized for its history of corruption. Rio continued the trend, with IOC member Patrick Hickey being arrested along with three other men in a ticket re-selling scam.

But, but, but…what about the good stuff? What about the spirit of friendly competition? Well, yes, competition was friendly, except when it wasn’t. International politics overflowed into sport when Egyptian Islam al-Shehaby refused to shake hands with his Israeli adversary.

So there you have it. Congrats to all the medalists. Congrats to those who fought hard and lost. And congrats to those athletes, officials, and sponsors who managed not to end up as fodder for the ethics professor’s classroom.