The right to privacy is always a huge issue in today’s society. people have a right to know certain information, but others have a right to keep personal information about themselves private. For a private figure privacy usually isn’t a big issue. However for public figures it is almost impossible to have a lot of privacy. There are three main moral principles regarding privacy. The first is that being decent and fair is not negotiable. The second is that the invasion of privacy must have some value to society. The last one is that the person involved must not be destroyed just for news. Let’s take Johnny Manziel for example. His life has been heavily scrutinized since he became a superstar on the college level. Since joining the Cleveland Browns nothing has really changed. This offseason however he has decided to enter rehab. This is a challenging decision for anybody to make, and it doesn’t help when it is announced to the world. However, it does not break any of the three privacy rules, although one could argue if it adds any value to society. Privacy is a growing issue, and will always be an issue for the forseeable future.

Article used for Johnny Manziel Rehab Story

Taylor, J. (2015, February 4). Manziel’s decision the right move. Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/12276550/johnny-manziel-rehab-decision-right-choice

There were many ethical perspectives discussed in the text (Media Ethics, Moral Cases and Reasoning) but the one I disagreed with the most was Confucius’s Golden Mean. The main idea of Confucius’s Golden mean is that, “Moral virtue is the appropriate location between two extremes.” While that is a good idea in theory, it however will probably not work out practically. For example, lets take the two moral extremes of stealing or not stealing. Obviously one is wrong and one is right. So under Confucius’s ethical perspective if stealing and not stealing were the two extremes then stealing once or twice, or maybe even stealing a few times would be morally acceptable. I just don’t believe that to be acceptable at all. Most of the time a person would have to pick one side or the other. There are also other questions that could be brought up. How many times would it take a person to be considered a thief? Maybe if a person stole two or three times they would be considered a thief. Well therefore under Confucius’s logic a thief could be considered a moral person. There really isn’t a solid middle ground.

The Potter Box is made up of four different quadrants. The first is definition, which means to define the certain ethical situation. The second is values. Values are what a certain person views on right and wrong. The next part of the Potter Box is principals. Principals are similar to values in that they are an extension of values. The last part of the Potter Box is loyalties.

When these parts are combined it forms a great tool to help figure out many ethical dilemmas a person might have. However, I believe the most important part of of the Potter box is values.

Everybody’s values differ in some sort of way, but valuing positive traits like honesty and integrity can help out a person when facing a tough ethical dilemma. The values that a person decides to use will be the basis of all the decisions that they will make in the future. Sometimes people go against their personal values because nobody is perfect, but for the most part people will follow the values that they chose for themselves.

People are taught values from a young age. Most of the time a person’s parents try to install good values into their children like treating others equally and with respect. Once that child starts to age into their teenage and young adult years they must set their own set of values. That period of time is crucial because many decisions a person makes in their 20’s can follow them for the rest of their life. So it is imperative that people should have good solid values.

Over the course of this last semester, I have been writing a blog for my Electronic Communications class. Most of my posts have been about newsworthy sports stories that have happened in the past few months. I’ve always loved playing and watching sports, so writing about them came pretty easy to me.

I’ve always been pretty good at writing, but I never really liked it. In high school, I didn’t have to work very hard to write a paper, and I usually got pretty good grades on my papers. I tried my same method of writing for my first college paper and lets just say it didn’t work out well for me.

I actually put much more thought into my work now. That makes a huge difference in the quality of my writing. Now if I can just remember my good writing habits next semester, I’ll be golden.

Former Rutgers coach Mike Rice was recently fired for his abusive actions against his players. He physically abused them by kicking, hitting, and throwing basketballs at his players. He also verbally abused them with all kinds of derogatory words. He actions were completely unacceptable.      I understand that coaches use different methods to motivate their players, but each person responds differently to these methods. Some didn’t mind his coaching style, while others took offense to it. However, I believe a person can be a great coach without physically and verbally attacking their team. It’s a shame he didn’t get fired earlier.

One the big stories of the past couple weeks has been the craziness of the latest NCAA basketball tournament. One of the most exciting teams to watch was definitely Florida Gulf Coast. I found them easy to cheer for especially because OSU lost so early in the tournament.
However, they will now have to find a new coach. Andy Enfield has left FGCU for USC. Despite the loss of their coach, I hope FGCU can build upon their recent success, and make another run in the tournament next year.

As many of you have already heard, Olympic runner, Oscar Pistorius, has been accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend. Also, known as the “Blade Runner,” his accomplishments have inspired millions of people around the world. This murder accusation, however, puts a damper on his legend.

Nowadays it seems like the images of great inspirational figures are being tarnished. I don’t know whether or not he shot his girlfriend. No matter the outcome, his legacy will never be the same.

The Blade Runner (Photo by Elvar Freyr

Facebook is one of the most addicting websites in the world. Millions of people have made a profile on this social media monster. However, if my parents offered me money to stay off the site, I could probably do it. I mean how hard could it be?

I think I’ll call my parents and ask if they would agree to this. Then I realized while writing this blog post I was using the Facebook app on my phone. I think instead of trading Facebook for money I’ll just ask my parents for the money.

Steroids are a huge part of sports nowadays (Photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)

In the professional sports world today, steroids have become a huge issue. Athletes are some of the most competitive people in the world, and they will do anything to stay one step ahead of their opponent. Even if they have to cheat to do it.

The recent allegations against Ray Lewis , Alex Rodriguez and Lance Armstrong  have shown that this problem isn’t going away. I don’t know how many athletes use performance enhancing drugs, but the ones that do are ruining the integrity of the game. Nobody likes a cheater.

Athletes are inspirational figures and roll models to millions of people. They give of moments of greatness that are unforgettable. However, the presence of steroids will forever cause us to question the legitimacy of those moments.

(Photo courtesy of Anderson Mancini/flickr).

On a football team, the most loved and hated player next to the quarterback is the kicker. It’s a position of extreme pressure, and a lot of guys crack. The pressure of winning a football doesn’t phase Nathan Noble in the least bit.

He’s a 29-year-old former Marine, and he has decided to try out as a kicker for the Wyoming college football team. This guy has some mad skill. He can consistently make 50-60 yard field goals with ease.

I hope this guy can make the team. While he was in the marines he was in charge of 12 men. The pressure of keeping those men safe doesn’t even compare to a game winning field goal.