Sports has been used to as a way to improve the character or morality of students, and this is part of why the Olympics was founded. The first Japanese member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) joined in 1909, and was the founder of Judo. From the time Judo was first formalized, its established goals were "physical education, contest proficiency, and mental training." Historically the IOC viewed Judo as containing "methods of physical, mental and moral education." Clearly the IOC still holds this sports-as-education view today:
The IOC President, Thomas Bach, regularly emphasizes that "sport is not just physical activity; it promotes health and helps prevent, or even cure, the diseases of modern civilization. It also is an educational tool which fosters cognitive development; teaches social behaviour; and helps to integrate communities".
One such movement that considered physical development of the body to contribute to the moral and mental development of the mind was Muscular Christianity of the latter 1800's, clearly influencing the movement that led to the Olympics as we know them today. The YMCA was originally founded to meet the social needs of people living in urban areas who faced moral dangers that could harm them. They invented basket ball to help such people "keep fit." Basketball was first played as a demonstration sport in the Olypics just a few years before Professor Kano joined the IOC. I hypothesize sports improves morality by:
The Olympics authority believes that people coming together socially helps promote world peace.
Others believe it improves social skills as athletes learn teamwork and how to follow rules and regulations.
Others see sports events as a metaphoric simulation of life, and that each time we participate in a round of sports it can help us reflect on who we are as a human being.
Others see sports as the ultimate state of "mindfulness," a powerful meditation where we stay focused on the here-and-now instead of fretting over the past or future, thus helping us to reflect on our lives more effectively.
None of these explanations necessarily exclude each other. I believe that full contact continuous martial arts (such as boxing and judo) build morality in athletes faster than other sports, but that most other sports also accomplish this. For example in basket ball a ball-hog is likely too self-centered off of the court. A lazy player who runs out of steam on the court could likely be putting in more hard work into the rest of his life as well. A player who pushes himself too hard on the court resorting in injury may need to relax more in the rest of his life as well. A player who lacks confidence to take a shot when he has a good opportunity may need to learn more confidence off of the court as well. These realizations could come as a result of any the bullet points above. Moral gains may also be a result of Neurogenesis:
