Questions about the character of athletes have been around for centuries. There seems to be ever increasing “gray areas” now in sport regarding what is or is not ethical in participation. These increases in moral dilemmas on the field affect all athletes. Would religious athletes be more affected or conflicted? Do religious athletes invoke as Shields and Bredemeier (1995) describe, “game reasoning” or moral bracketing? Is there a difference between younger and older athletes and their decisions on what acceptable on a playing field? The purpose of this study was to use a cross-longitudinal approach to examine young athletes' responses to ethical dilemmas that arise in sport. Participants were chosen from 6th, 8th, and 12th grade sport teams in soccer, baseball/softball, football, basketball, and tennis. The participants completed a scenario-based questionnaire and participated in a brief interview. Results showed a significant difference in responses as the youth progressed in their sport. The coach and others doing the behavior in question were the most influential on whether or not the athlete would engage in unethical behavior. There were also significant differences based on gender, religion, and sport. Content analysis of the individual interviews revealed common areas of dilemma related to religion such as cursing, hard fouls or playing hard, being Christ-like or a role model, and game/training integrity. General ethical themes unrelated to religion also emerged such as lying and cheating in academics, unsportsmanlike behavior, steroids, and respecting each other. Parents were found to be the most influential on the athlete's decision-making and a source of dilemma themselves when their behavior did not match what they had previously taught the athlete. Their influenced did change slightly based on the age of the participant. Religion also played a strong role in the decision-making of the athletes who identified themselves as religious. Peers were influential, but their influence also showed change with the age of the participant. Improved communication about ethical issues from coaches and group discussions were stated by the athletes as ways to help them with decision-making. Those involved in all areas of sport should want to help athletes through developing skills to face the rules and code of ethics that automatically comes from within sport. Sport psychology teaches athletes to have a plan for competition to improve their performance. The same can be held for having an ethical decision-making plan for competition as well.Keyword(s): standards and ethics, youth sports