Integrity in Sport: Is It a Hopeless Ideal?

This article originally appeared in The Sports Integrity Initiative. Any opinions in this article are not those of Winston & Strawn or its clients. The opinions in this article are the authors' opinions only.

In a world where integrity might have different connotations, we must first ask what is meant by integrity in sport. According to the UK’s Sport and Recreation Alliance, “a defining characteristic of competitive sport is that the contest should be unpredictable and decided by the skill of the participants alone. Where sporting outcomes are determined by other, illegitimate means – such as doping or match-fixing- the integrity of the competition is called into question and confidence in sport is undermined.”

It is in this context, that we argue that truly effective global and national measures are critical in order to protect the level playing field of integrity across all levels of national and international sports. Given the headline grabbing cases of allegations of corruption and cheating in all corners of the sports universe, the real issue is whether the current national and international measures against the individuals involved and their respective governing bodies are sufficient to protect integrity in sport. 

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