エッセイ 02

大谷翔平選手のドジャースとの巨額契約にちなんでプロフェッショナルスポーツは儲かると同時に道徳的かという問いに答える形でエッセイを書きました。

Can professional sports be both profitable and ethical?

I have no doubt that professional sports can be both profitable and ethical. 

A news report about a ten-year contract signed by Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese two-way baseball player, with a Major League Baseball team, the Los Angels Dodgers surprised people in all over the world. The contract is worth in the neighborhood of 70 million US dollars, which is approximately 101.4 billion Japanese yen. In fact, this is the largest contract ever made in the history of professional sports. An economic impact is estimated to be about 64.3 billion yen in the year of 2024. In addition to the money Otani will earn from the contract, he will receive so much more from his sponsors. This one instance reveals how profitable professional sports can be. 

Professional sports can also be ethical. A star player such as Shohei Ohtani attracts the attention of so many people. He has become not only popular because of his unique and extraordinary talent that his pitching and hitting abilities are both at the highest level in the history of the Major League Baseball. He has gained popularity because of his affable personality. Moreover, he is also highly respected for his diligence and discipline in pursuit of his ultimate ideal in baseball. There are many young and even professional players who admire him and want to be like him. 

Professional athletes make great contributions to people in need through charity activities such as donating to organizations that run hospitals or orphanages. They often visit patients with incurable diseases during the off-seasons to show their support for the patients and their families. 

In this way, professional athletes have a tremendous influence on people, both economically and ethically. Professional sports provide us with moments of excitement and enthusiasm, which brim our lives with joy. People will continue to visit stadiums to watch games as new star players such as Shohei Ohtani emerge in hopes that they will ever succeed in playing for their teams. I hope that the professional sports industry will continue to thrive and be a great boon to people in many ways.