CCES Blog: Making Sport Better

Welcome to the CCES blog. We’ll be using this platform to share our views on anything and everything related to ethics in sport – from playground to podium. The CCES uses ethical debate to create an environment for meaningful dialogue around the future of sport. We strive to shape the public consensus of how we should behave when we compete, always recognizing that in a democracy, consensus is dynamic. 

The primary contributors to this blog are the members of the CCES executive team (listed below), with occasional entries from other CCES staff:

Paul Melia, President and Chief Executive Officer
Karri Dawson, Executive Director, Values-Based Sport
Jeremy Luke, Executive Director, Sport Integrity

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Is doping a criminal offence in Canada?

December 10, 2014Only dumbbells do dope

Seems like an odd question with the obvious and factual answer being: no. But let’s look a little more closely at the question and consider whether perhaps doping ought to be a criminal offence in Canada.Read more

Bullying has no place in sport (Part 2)

November 18, 2014Young girls playing baseball

I would like to reiterate yesterday’s blog message that when the True Sport Principles (Go For It, Respect Others, Keep It Fun, Include Everyone, Play Fair, Give Back and Stay Healthy) are present in sport, the outcome will be a positive sport experience. Too often though, coaches, parents and...Read more

Bullying has no place in sport (Part 1)

November 17, 2014Bullying Awareness Week in Canada

November 17-23 is Bullying Awareness Week in Canada. Bullying has become such an important health and social issue in our country that we now need a dedicated national awareness week. Sadly, this means we are not doing enough in Canada to combat bullying and to prevent the harm it causes.Read more

Getting the story straight

November 13, 2014Batter hemet lies on the ground at home base

When we read Cathal Kelly’s column, from the November 5, 2014 issue of The Globe and Mail, entitled “Kelly: It’s not about A-Rod being clean, it’s about him coming clean,” we were shocked at how naïve and out of touch with Canadians the basic premise of the article was. We understand it can be a...Read more

The Blind Side

August 15, 2014Close up view of hockey stick and puck

A recent court decision involving an incident in a senior men’s recreational hockey League in Ottawa caught my attention. The incident involved two players who collided behind the net in this non-contact league. One player was knocked unconscious by the hit, sustaining physical injuries and as a...Read more

Is pro sport too soft on doping?

July 11, 2014Young baseball fans sit ready to catch a fly ball

Over 25 years ago, Ben Johnson tested positive for anabolic steroids at the Olympics in Seoul, Korea. He was once a hero in sport and overnight he became a villain. Contrast this with Major League Baseball (MLB) player Nelson Cruz’s doping violation last year. After his doping violation, it would...Read more

Ontario political parties silent on investment in sport

June 5, 2014Young players huddle before play continues

The Ontario election is less than two weeks away and we're not hearing much from any party about their plans to increase support for sport across the province...Read more

Closing the Gap

April 28, 2014Only dumbells do drugs

As I sit each night and watch the “war of attrition” known as the Stanley Cup Play-Offs, I am amazed at the endurance, strength and speed, not to mention courage of these NHL athletes. I also marvel at the similarly amazing feats of athleticism of pro basketball players and our own Toronto Raptors...Read more

Preparation! Preparation! Preparation!

February 27, 2014A group of speed skaters round the turn

Well, the Sochi Olympics are now in the books and all of Canada is basking in the glow of our athletes’ successes. We set the bar very high back in 2010 in Vancouver and half way around the world four years later we strove to match or exceed that accomplishment. We fell just short by that measure,...Read more

Health vs. Wealth: Are Concussions the new Tobacco?

January 30, 2014A hockey player huddles on the ice after a hard hit

Many years ago, the tobacco industry was confronted with the mounting medical evidence of the harm their products were causing to their customers. Faced with the evidence, the industry had two choices: stop producing a product that was killing millions every year or continue to sell their products...Read more

"Hitting the Ethics Gym..."

January 10, 2014Image of dumbells being lifted from a weight rack

I came across a timely blog on ethics that I wanted to share. I think it’s timely not only because of the New Year theme but also because our athletes are headed to Sochi. I am sure there will be issues that arise that will test our ethics. The blog is by renowned ethicist John Dalla Costa and...Read more

Vigilante Justice

December 16, 2013Shinny on the pond at twighlight

We witnessed again, on December 7th , an example of NHL style vigilante justice, meted out by Boston tough guy Shawn Thornton in response to a borderline body check to his teammate. In the first period of the game between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, Shawn Thornton attacked Brooks...Read more

Nelson Mandela – an example in life and in sport

December 11, 2013A football field is lit at twighlight

As our lives unfold, it is common for us to ask ourselves, what difference have I made, what will be my legacy after I am gone? Few will be able to leave a legacy like Nelson Mandela. He died this past weekend at the age of 95 and the positive impact of his life on the entire world is being...Read more

CCES CEO Addresses World Conference on Doping in Sport

November 13, 2013WADA Conference Logo

This week, a few CCES staff members and I are at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg (http://wada2013.org). Below is a speech I just delivered during a plenary session:Read more

You can help the fight against doping in sport

November 5, 2013Runners make ready at the starting blocks

Over the past couple of years, a review of the World Anti-Doping Code has been undertaken involving extensive worldwide consultation with all stakeholders and signatories. The resulting proposed revisions to the Code will be ratified this November in South Africa. The newly revised Code will come...Read more

Supplements in the news…again

October 17, 2013Supplement powder spills out onto a table

Supplements, long the doping scourge of athletes looking for that extra edge, have made the headlines again. This time it is a product called "Craze" that has come under fire from the medical and scientific communities and the anti-doping movement...Read more

What’s in a name?

September 19, 2013Football helmet and ball

That’s the question currently being debated by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and a local community sports team in Ottawa, the Nepean Redskins Football Club. Those who favour retaining the name offer up reasons that run from, “Its use celebrates the heritage of Native...Read more

Is pro sport serious about clean sport?

July 11, 2013Young fans hope to catch a fly ball from the stands

The Biogenesis story linking Major League Baseball (MLB) players to the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is heating up again. This simmering story, that will soon break and may expose over 20 MLB players, casts the spotlight on MLB but it also casts a shadow of sorts on a few other North...Read more

Heads up!

June 12, 2013Players chase a soccerball

Quebec Soccer’s controversial decision to ban turbans and the subsequent efforts of the Canadian Soccer Association to overturn the ban is an interesting case study in “doing the right thing.”Read more

Ethical Literacy – Reducing Bad Behaviour in Sport

May 10, 2013Players and coaches head off the field

Why is it that bad behavior in sport seems to be escalating? Doping, match-fixing, violence, fraud, harassment and others. Sport’s great potential to shape and transform lives and to impart values and build character, appears to be losing ground to a wide array of unethical behaviours in sport. If...Read more