Using philosophical arguments rooted in ethics and virtue theory, this book examines the alcohol-tolerant ethos that pervades contemporary sport, and the initiation of members of the sporting practice community into problematic drinking. It argues that sport should be aware of the potential for alcoholism and provide the right type of support for athletes, that sports people can be seen as role models, and that it's preferable that athletes set good examples rather than bad. Drawing on case studies of individual problem drinkers, it calls for a nuanced understanding of the relationship between bad behaviour and underlying causes, and for a re-evaluation of how such individuals are treated.

Carwyn Rh. Jones is Professor in Sports Ethics at the Cardiff School of Sport at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. He was formerly president of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport and a founding member of the British Philosophy of Sport Association. He is co-editor of Routledge's The Ethics of Sport Coaching and Cambridge Scholar's Philosophy of Sport. He has published widely on a broad range of ethical and sociological issues in sport

Introduction 1. Alcohol and its harms 2. Alcohol and sport 3. Sport and its alcohol ethos 4:. 'Role models' and setting a good example 5. Drinking too much and punishment 6. Alcohol abuse, misuse and disorder 7. Footballer and alcoholic: a life story 8. Conclusion