Handling ethical misconduct in sport : Aufarbeitung as a comprehensive conceptual approach

Abstract

The sport industry has faced numerous crises involving ethical misconduct, ranging from sexual abuse and corruption to match-fixing, doping, and financial mismanagement. Despite the implementation of governance principles and compliance mechanisms, many institutional responses have been superficial and largely ineffective. We argue that both academic and practical approaches have focused too narrowly on prevention, often neglecting the critical importance of examining and addressing past failures. This article introduces the concept of Aufarbeitung, a German term rooted in confronting the legacy of the Nazi regime, as a more holistic approach to dealing with ethical misconduct in sport. Lacking a clear theoretical foundation, we first develop a model of Aufarbeitung by drawing insights from disciplines beyond sport. The process begins with an investigation asking: What happened? How could it happen? How was it addressed? On this basis, institutions can adequately handle the past, meaningfully manage the present, and shape the future. We test our model against five diverse cases of ethical misconduct in sport, analyzing how institutions have responded, and the roles played by victims, secondary victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and other stakeholders. These case studies demonstrate the model’s potential to broaden perspectives and enhance institutional learning. Our findings suggest that effective responses to ethical misconduct require more than governance reforms. They demand a deep cultural engagement with past wrongdoings. Aufarbeitung offers a valuable foundation for developing more comprehensive and sustainable strategies in sport ethics. To move forward, sport organizations must first confront and learn from their past.