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MLB Business Ethics

Brendan Hanlon, Jack Kakalec, Lucas Pinter

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Introductions

Jack Kakalec

Brendan Hanlon

Lucas Pinter

The Issue

Major League Baseball has been facing scrutiny for years and recently for fan injuries occurring from foul balls and broken bats
As a result lawsuits, severe injuries/deaths, and bad publicity have all provoked the MLB to take action for a safer experience for fans
League officials and owners have come up with suggestions for solutions such as increasing the length of foul ball netting, changing the layouts of stadiums, and foul ball whistles

Unethical Actions Behind the Scenes

The MLB deliberately conceals the dangers of foul balls by hiding disclaimers in small print on tickets
Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, does not have warnings on tickets but rather instructs fans to call the ticket office for Waiver and Release of Liability
They know the dangers and are deliberately concealing the information to prevent it being a deciding factor in fan attendance

Our Recommendation

A mandatory release of liability agreement should be required for all ticket sales (online and in person)
Ticket stubs should clearly state in large text a warning making fans aware of the serious injuries that may occur
Have the team's’ star player make an announcement on the jumbotron of the pending dangers during the game
Add phrase: “could result in serious

injury or death” to signs and tickets

Why Raise Awareness?

Prevents fans from getting hit by foul balls
By raising awareness, clubs are fulfilling their ethical duty to protect fans
Eliminates liability for baseball clubs directing the responsibility on the fans themselves
Eliminate need for net expansion
Addresses criticism from fans on taking additional safety measures

Without Additional Netting...

Players remain able to pursue foul balls in foul territory (1st and 3rd baselines)
Allows the game of baseball to maintain its ideal tradition where fans have the prospect of bringing home a foul ball
Even with current netting fans are still being hit

Hit by ball

Netting

Coors Field

Virtue Ethics Responsibility

By making the print larger on tickets, announcing to fans to stay aware, and having fans sign a waiver when buying tickets, the MLB is showing good character
Unmasking the issue to fans and changing their bad habits is a sign that the MLB shows their compassion, humility, and respect for their fans

Utilitarianism

Through restricting ticket sales until a release of liability agreement is signed by spectators, all fans are warned of the hazards of foul balls
This ultimately works to increase spectator awareness and ideally decrease distracted fans and the potential to be struck by foul balls because fans are more informed

Justice

Procedural Justice- Our solution sheds light on club’s policies and makes the experience fair and transparent for the fans and the organization
Distributive Justice- eliminates the dispute of who is responsible for the incident by having the fan sign a waiver and putting the risk and responsibility on them
Compensatory Justice- As fans are signing a waiver, our solution eliminates the issue of the stadium being liable for injuries at their stadiums

Thank you for your time and attention!

Sources