Grounding Sport in Universal Moral Values to Support International Peace

Abstract

A focus on improving peace throughout the world is admirable, dutiful, and realistic. The long history of war throughout human kind serves as evidence that the eradication of major conflict in the present or future is naive. Efforts, however, to support the progress toward peace should be continual and pursued through multiple mediums including sport. Sport’s natural battle-like competition driven environment seems counter-supportive of a peace promoting medium unless there is a genuine commitment from sport managers to manage sport in a way that allows it to serve as a common harmonizing bond between all human beings. The success of sport as an effective medium to promote world peace calls for the focus on excellence over winning-at-all-costs, moral values that support actions to make the most amount of people happy, and establishing a trust through sport that can be transferred to larger dialogue supporting peace.