A concept is the logical starting point for both thinking and research. In previous studies, common colloquial terms such as sportsmanship (or sportspersonship), character, or fair play have been used to describe moral development in sports (1). These words can be used to describe participants’ good or bad moral psychologies and behaviors in sports. However, as vocabulary usage scenarios have become increasingly complex, vocabulary usage habits have gradually changed. Shields and Bredemeier (2) noted that the concepts of morality and moral education have been employed with decreasing frequency, whereas the concepts of character and character education have been increasingly utilized. Moreover, many studies have begun to focus on the results of moral character development (3–6). This phenomenon is also occurring in the field of sports, but new and old words have not been defined or differentiated, which has caused confusion in the theoretical and practical research of moral development in sports. Especially as regards the sports participation of young students and athletes, poor guidance may lead to an improper development. For example, some PE teachers may cultivate students’ sports moral character by creating a series of game rules that reward “champions”; Many coaches often regard social character content, such as persistence and struggle, as the core of moral character development (7).

How can we define sport moral character? What are the differences between sports moral character and sports character, sports morality, and sportsmanship? Concept research is a new approach that can further the development of sports moral character. This study defines and differentiates the characteristics and connotation of sports moral character and related concepts to provide a reference for the theoretical research on and the teaching practice of sports moral character.

In this study, a literature research focuses on a conceptual analysis. To define the relationship between sports moral character and related concepts, the keywords “sports morality,” “sportsmanship,” “sports moral character,” and “sports character” were used in electronic databases such as Web of Science, ProQuest, Scopus, EBSCO, and Google Scholar. The retrieved literature on sports moral character and related concepts was read, and the concepts were classified and summarized.

To understand the connotation of sports moral character, we should determine the origin of “moral character” and understand its characteristics. The notion of moral character can be traced to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (8), in which Aristotle used the word “hexis” to express a habit that involves knowledge and moral character. Aristotle indicated that a good person must have a moral character and knowledge to choose and practice good habits (5). Using Aristotle's threefold division of the things that exist in the soul (potency, habit, and emotion), George (9) defined a moral character as the sum of a person's moral habits and dispositions. This definition is consistent with the understanding of many other researchers. Pervin (10) defined a moral character as a disposition to express behavior in consistent patterns of functions across a range of situations. Cohen and Morse (11) adopted the three-factor model (motivation, ability, and identity) and maintained that a moral character can be conceptualized as an individual's disposition to think, feel, and behave in an ethical vs. an unethical manner.

Thus, a moral character has at least the following three characteristics. First, its subject is the individual. Second, it should be related to moral values. Third, it is a stable disposition through which behavior is expressed. Because of its first characteristic, the concepts of a moral character can be clearly distinguished from morality. Morality is a kind of norm referring to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be upheld by all rational people (12). A moral character is found in an individual's soul. It is a personalized form of morality, and it consists of the transformation of morality from social external norms to individual, internal psychology. In addition, while a moral character has both psychological and moral characteristics, it differs from the general psychological quality of individuals. An ancient states, “Those who have virtue also obtain it. … They obtain it from themselves, and they obtain it from others.” In Asian culture, the core concept of the term “moral character” is “Te (德),” whose connotation (e.g., 德, moral) is connected with “De (得, gain)”, which means that moral characters and moral behaviors should benefit both ourselves and others (13). In this context, the personal quality characteristics of “oneself” may not necessarily be moral. For example, a person who is overly self-centered is regarded as selfish, while a person who is brazen in doing evil things may be antisocial.

In addition, the characteristics of personal psychological quality are closely related to character. Here, it is necessary to clarify the terms “moral character” and “character.” A Dictionary of Philosophy defines “character” as the sum of a person's dispositions to action (14). Moreover, the term character is often used in character education. Character education began in the United States at the end of the 20th century. It has a long developmental history and is the mainstream method of moral education in the United States. A character education partnership defines character education as the conscious efforts of schools, families, and communities to help children understand, cultivate, and practice core ethical values (15). From this perspective, character includes both moral character and the ability to achieve moral values. In Berkowitz and Grych's (16) definition of character, character has four foundational components (social orientation, self-control, compliance, and self-esteem) and four moral components (empathy, conscience, moral reasoning, and altruism). These classification methods are widely recognized and applied in character education. Lickona and Davidson (17) proposed that character includes performance character and moral character. Rudd and Stoll (7) noted that character can be divided into social character and moral character. Shields (18) advocated that K-12 education should help children develop four kinds of character: intellectual, moral, civic, and performance. Therefore, many experts agree that moral character is included in character.

However, although social character (or performance/intellectual/civic character) is necessary for social life, it can be used as a support for moral character. Can moral character affect the development of social character? How does moral character affect the formation of character? Few studies have fully explained these problems. Shields (18) claimed that moral character cannot be reduced to a “bag of virtues,” and the goal of character education is to develop a disposition to seek goodness. Baehr (19) noted that moral character can be considered a concern with distinctively moral goods such as the alleviation of another person's suffering. Such concerns can be seen as another important feature of moral character, which can be called moral coordination. In the Tao Te Ching, Laozi wrote “Tao” begets them. “Te” nurtures them. … Therefore all things respect not only “Tao” but also “Te” (20). The “Tao” mentioned here can be understood as the universe, while “Te” is morality, and the internal perspective of the individual is moral character. Lao Tzu believed that the highest virtue is to let things exist and develop in the most reasonable way. Moreover the I Ching (21) states that if “Te” does not match a person's position, disaster will result. This statement shows that, for a person to have a good moral character, he or she must behave well and achieve the moral purpose that is within his or her ability. In general, these thoughts all explain that individual moral character plays the role of coordinating morality in the development of things.

In summary, a moral character can be defined as a stable disposition of an individual in the process of coordinating the practice of a moral purpose. Under the moral practice in different social contexts, a moral character plays a role in coordinating the accomplishment of moral purposes. In this process, the practice of moral behavior needs the support of social character, and the practice can affect the development of individual social character and ability, thereby forming one's character.

In the previous research on and the elaboration of moral problems in sports, words such as sports moral character, sports morality, sportsmanship, etc. have commonly been used interchangeably. Although this variation in vocabulary is related to “users’” habits to a certain extent, it is also closely related to the essential properties of vocabulary and usage scenarios. Distinguishing among these words and usage scenarios can help to avoid confusion and to understand and solve the practical problems existing in vocabulary expressions.

Based on the definition of moral character and the characteristics of sports moral character, this study proposes that the latter phrase refers to the stable moral quality that is gradually formed and displayed in sports practice through the influence of family, school, and social environments.

The concept of sports moral character is different from that of sports morality. Sports morality is the “reason” for an objective existence, while sports moral character is the psychological feature of individual “reason.” Moreover, sports character and sportsmanship are both more widely applied than is sports moral character, as these concepts are not limited to the moral level.

Furthermore, while this study focuses on the essence of sports moral character and related concepts, discussion remains lacking on the rational composition of sports morality and the education and evaluation methods of moral character. Thus, more research should be conducted in the future to discuss the standard system of sports morality and to further explore sports moral character education and evaluation methods.