Playing on the Edge of the Circle

: Ethical requirements for sharing genetic data of professional handball players in a sports data ecosystem

Abstract

This research investigates the essential ethical requirements of Dutch professional handball players for trustworthy genetic data sharing in a sports data ecosystem. The increasing use of DNA to enhance the athletes’ performance also raises ethical concerns regarding privacy, security, and data governance. The theoretical framework identified nine ethical requirements for trustworthy data sharing in a data ecosystem, which were subsequently explored through qualitative semi-structured interviews with five Dutch professional handball players. This resulted in five essential ethical requirements: Knowledge & Support, Privacy & Data Protection, Security & Safeguards, Accountability & Governance, and Transparency & Traceability. Knowledge & Support emerged as newly identified ethical requirement, which emphasizes the athletes’ need for education, awareness, and guidance regarding genetic data sharing. Furthermore, three ethical requirements remain under discussion among the athletes, which are Fairness & Non-discrimination, Accuracy & Reliability, and Economic Viability & Incentives. Further research is necessary to discover whether they are essential ethical requirements. Additionally, Intellectual Property & Ownership and Societal & Environmental Wellbeing, which were identified in the theoretical framework, were not specifically mentioned by the athletes. These findings enhance the understanding of essential ethical requirements for genetic data sharing in sports data ecosystems.

Date of Award	24 May 2025
Original language	English
Supervisor	Remko Helms (Examiner) & Roger Bons (Co-assessor)