The ethical question about point shaving asks whether intentionally trying to lose counts as cheating.

• A. Whether intentionally trying to lose or underperform counts as cheating
• B. Whether point shaving can ever be permitted in amateur sports
• C. Whether players should be compensated for losing games
• D. Whether point shaving is irrelevant to fairness

Answer: (A)

Deliberately trying to lose or underperform is about dishonesty and violation of fair play in sport. Cheating means breaking the rules or the spirit of competition to gain an unfair advantage, and point shaving does exactly that by trying to influence the game's score for gambling or other benefits rather than competing to win. So the best answer asks whether that intentional underperformance counts as cheating, because that captures the ethical question of integrity in sport. The other options shift the focus away from whether intentional underperformance equals cheating—for example, asking about permission in amateur sports, about paying players for losing, or claiming it has no effect on fairness—which don't address the ethical violation at the heart of point shaving.