Resumen de Perceptions of Justice in the Selection of National Teams
Two forms of justice, distributive and procedural, were used to examine athletes’ perceptions of the fairness of selections for national sports teams. Two questions were investigated: whether the athletes perceived the selections to be fair, and whether their perceptions of the fairness of the selection outcomes were related to their perceptions of the fairness of the selection procedures. Data were collected through interviews from all first-year players on six selected national teams. Three procedures were identified by which the teams selected their athletes: “board of selectors,” “national coach,” and “mixed.” The first type of selection process was associated with perceptions of unfairness of both the selection procedures and the outcomes. The second type was perceived to be fair in both its selection procedures and outcomes. The third type, mixed, occupied an intermediate position and the athletes were ambivalent about both its procedures and selection outcomes. It was concluded that the athletes’ perceptions of the fairness of the selection outcomes were indeed related to their perceptions of the fairness of the selection procedures.
