Steroids Case Study

There are three ethical dilemmas that present themselves throughout the course of the case study. Each of the ethical dilemmas have a snowball effect; once the first dilemma occurs and is not resolved, the situation continues to get worse, for all parties involved. The first ethical dilemma is when Ron discovers that Tony and Mark are beginning to experiment with steroids and he fails to confront them about their usage. At this time Ron, could have prevented any further issues, however he brushed the issue aside and it only became worse. The second dilemma occurs when Ron is confronted by other players, coaches, and scouts about his training regime and if the Tony and Mark were under the use of steroids. In this situation, Ron had a second
chance to explain the boy’s steroid use and failed to do so. The third and final ethical dilemma develops from Tony hitting financial woes and not being able to afford his steroid use, and begins to sell illegal steroids. Ron discovers this, is finally presented with a situation where he must decide to end the entire ordeal.

Three moral or non-moral theories that present themselves in the case study are: strategic reasoning, theological moral theory, and consequentialism. The first of three moral theories that are found is strategic reasoning. Strategic reasoning is the theory that an individual focuses on how a decision being made will result in the best reward for themselves or their close group. In this case, Mark and Tony are in it for their best interest. Mark is looking for a future scholarship in play football in college, and Tony is looking towards the professional level, instead of looking out for the best interests of their respected teams. Their self-interest was so strong that both Mark and Tony resorted to the use of steroids. Their steroid use also shows a faction of strategic reasoning in that they are now choosing their athletic ability for a competitive advantage over the health of their own bodies.
The second moral theory, is the teleological moral theory. Teleological moral theory involves the use of moral values and principles to understand a given situation. In this case study, Teleological moral theory, involves the moral values of respect/justice and honesty. Respect and justice go hand and hand in this situation because of the term fairness. Initially Tony and Mark’s goals were filled with good intentions but their desire to get a competitive advantage lead to their disrespect for the game and gaining an unfair advantage. Once their steroid use begins, Tony and Mark’s good intentions end and they begin to gain their unfair advantage. Their unfair advantage goes against justice because they fail to maintain a fair playing field in their sport and goes against respect because by altering their bodies in such a way they fail to respect the game, fellow teammates, opponents, and others involved. While the boy’s fail to follow the moral value of respect and justice, Ron fails to follow honesty. In the first two ethical dilemmas, Ron is presented with a chance to confront the boy’s steroid use and also to come clean about their use to others involved in Tony and Mark’s interests. Ron fails to follow the moral value of honesty and in the end fails to make the situation right which ultimately leads to the situation getting out of hand.
The final moral theory that is presented in the case, is the theory of consequentialism, which involves looking at the positive and negatives of a giving situation.
In this aspect Ron uses consequentialism when presented with each of the three ethical dilemmas. The first dilemma presents two choices: Ron can either allow the boys to continue their steroid use due to their physical improvement or he can confront Tony and Mark and have them stop. Ron takes the first path which allows for the second dilemma to come forth, which takes place when he is approached by coaches, scouts, and other players. In his this dilemma Ron has the chance to come clean about the reality of Tony and Mark’s improvement’s or have the chance to train other players and profit, through monetary means, by training the other players. The final dilemma, is the overall final question of the case and comes about from the Tony and Mark’s addiction, in that they had to sell drugs to get their own steroids. Ron became aware of this and is presented with either ignoring the issue that they continue to train with him or intervene and confront not only Tony and Mark but also their coaches, families, and other players about their steroids usage and aid them in getting help. Ron had to previous chances to make the right decision and now has a third and most likely final chance to fix both the boys mistake but also his failure to be
responsible.