Coaches Discuss How ‘Win At All Costs’ Mentality Can Compromise Integrity

Men’s basketball coaches from Division I private universities Belmont, Vanderbilt and Butler, along with ESPN college basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes, shared their perspectives on being truthful in athletics as the Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics and Belmont University Athletics hosted their first Integrity in Sports panel discussion Wednesday in the Maddox Grand Atrium.

NewsChannel 5 sports anchor Steve Layman moderated the discussion among the men he dubbed “caretakers of the game.” The panel debated the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics and maintaining integrity and honor amidst growing pressures to win. Participants also discussed how integrity spans recruiting, practice, scheduling, road travel, balance with academics, NCAA compliance, coaches’ personal conduct and student behavioral issues.

“Things aren’t going to change until the coaching heroes talk about doing things honestly and decently,” said Belmont University men’s basketball head coach Rick Byrd. “College athletics is supposed to be a part of the college educational experience, and coaches should be held just as accountable as the mathematics professor.”

Byrd added a university’s athletic integrity starts with its hiring of coaches.

Butler University men’s basketball head coach Brad Stevens said instead of simply sitting in the rows behind athletic teams in arenas, university presidents and athletic directors  should not “waver in accountability in day to day” and be the “tone setters” to trickle down the way they want student athletes to be treated and to behave.

The coaches also discussed a “win at all costs mentality” that pushes some coaches into compromising to keep their positions and how social media and bloggers amplify wins and losses taking them beyond the court. (more…)

Congressman Lamar Smith Offers ‘Three-Prong Approach’ to Piracy

Congressman Lamar Smith speaks to students at a convo in Beaman A&B.

U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith shared his “three-prong approach” to combating the theft of intellectual property with a full room of Belmont University students this past Monday, Feb. 11. The event, sponsored by the Center for Business Ethics, was an academic lecture convocation titled “Internet Piracy: Copyright Infringement and Compensating Creativity.” Representing Texas’ 21st congressional district since 1987, Smith recently proposed legislation with the purpose of hindering the negative impact of foreign websites that consistently engage in illegal acts of digital piracy. Smith described SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and how the legislation primarily focuses on the prosecution of foreign-based websites.

Smith’s three-prong solution includes public education to the negative effects of copyright infringement, technological advances that allow artists to be paid fairly for their work and legislation that allows federal enforcement. Smith explained, “Theft of intellectual property can affect anyone in this room in one way or another.”

Several students from Belmont’s College of Law asked questions relating to copyrights and recent cases from their class studies. Second-year law student Franklin Graves commented, “It’s important for Belmont to host this type of event. They bring focus to the artist, the creator, the people the legislation truly affects. From a law student’s perspective, it’s great to hear a pro-copyright voice.”

Markopolos Shares Ethics Advice from Madoff Ponzi Scheme

The man who pursued the biggest Ponzi scheme in history recounted the story and shared advice with Belmont student Wednesday during a convocation hosted by the Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics.

Harry Markopolos said his study of Bernie Madoff’s phony investment strategy was his first experience with “pure evil.”

“He was a horrible case to be part of, and I don’t have fond memories of it,” he said.

Markopolos, a portfolio manager and chief investment officer for a multi-billion dollar derivatives asset management firm in Boston, Mass., led a four-person team through an eight-and-a-half-year investigation that spanned two continents to understand Madoff’s investment strategy.

“His numbers were too good to be true. He never had a loss and took clients from every good firm,” he said. Markopolos said he realized within five minutes of looking at documents that Madoff was operating a fraud, but it took longer to convince the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Of the $65 billion that funneled through Madoff’s hands, most went to old investors receiving an average 12 percent annual return, 4 percent went to luring new victims through feed funds and private client banks and the remaining 1 percent Madoff kept. Among the red flags Markopolos found were undecipherable accounting statements and similar account numbers at different banks in different countries. (more…)

Belmont Celebrates Naming of Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics

Gift from Helen Kennedy announced at event featuring author/financial analyst Harry Markopolos

Pictured are College of Business Administration Dean Pat Raines, Helen Kennedy, Director of the Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics Harold Fogelberg and former Center director and Professor Emeritus of Management Harry Hollis.

Belmont University’s College of Business Administration (COBA) celebrated today a generous endowment received from civic leader and Belmont Trustee Helen Kennedy by naming its Center for Business Ethics in honor of her late husband, Edward Creasman Kennedy, a local businessman who exemplified the values the Center promotes.  A graduate of Hume Fogg High School and lifetime deacon of Judson Baptist Church, Mr. Kennedy co-founded Ed’s Supply Company and was actively involved in many organizations related to the heating, cooling and refrigeration industry. Mr. Kennedy also served 12 years as a Belmont University Trustee.

“This naming allows a new tune to be hymned throughout Belmont,” said Mrs. Kennedy. “The Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics can provide a strong foundation on professional ethics for every University program.”

Tom Connor, a personal friend and former business partner of Ed Kennedy, attended the naming ceremony and shared his thoughts on Ed’s staunch ethical conduct in business matters. “Ed loved Belmont. I don’t think there’s a way he could be better honored than to have a center on this campus named for him and for it to be connected to ethics. And, I don’t believe Belmont could have selected a better or more ethical person to name this center after than Ed Kennedy.”

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U.S. Bank Chairman Shares Views on Ethics at Belmont

Richard K. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer of U.S. Bank shared his views on the importance of regulating ethical business behavior with Belmont students, faculty and Nashville business leaders on Monday, March 26.

Davis began his campus visit with a convocation lecture titled “Business Ethics & Responsible Banking Today” presented to students in Beaman A&B.

“Ethics can be learned now. What I can’t drill into your head is when a lot of people are doing little things wrong, you will want to draw the line on when it will end. You can draw the line in the sand now that you will adhere to as you begin practicing business,” he said.

Davis emphasized the need to create a business culture with consistent values and regular audits as the cornerstone to long-term success. He encouraged government regulation on ethical business practices, such as shareholder access and whistleblower incentives to promote honesty, integrity and transparency. He also summarized the evolution of corporate responsibility from 1919 to the present.

“Making money is not a bad thing, because capitalism is what got America where it is today, as long as you do it the right way with honesty,” Davis said.

Davis was recently recognized as the Banker of the Year by the American Banker and received the Hendrickson Medal for Ethical Leadership. U.S. Bank is the nation’s fifth largest commercial bank with $340 billion in assets. The company has more than 3,000 banking offices, 5,000 ATMs and 60,000 employees in 25 states. Each year, about 50 U.S. Bank employees face jail time for white collar crimes, he said. U.S. Bank is characterized as one of the “cleanest” and best managed megabanks today and does not make loans to munitions or pornography companies, among others that conflict with company values. (more…)