FREE ESSAY ON VIOLENCE IN SPORTS

VIOLENCE IN SPORTS

Violence in Sports
With the increase in society taking a stance against violence by many people, sports
has become an area where some feel that the violent acts such as the hitting and
fighting
that occurs should be eliminated. You can not change something that has been around for
so long becuse it would change the aspect of the game to something completly different.
The elimination of violence should not be done in sport because the violence is a part
of
the game which would only hurt its popularity. 
The reasons that the violence is occurring in sport is due to six theories according
to John Schneider. The violence in sport mirrors the violence found in society, violence
as the result of economic incentives, the influence of crowd behaviour on player
violence,
genetic causation for player aggression, learning theory and player aggression, and
psychological stress and player violence (Lapchick 230). 
The theories of sport mirroring society, violence as a result of economic incentive,
and the influence of the crowd behaviour are the theories that I feel are responsible for
the
increasing violence in sports. Most people when involved in a highly stressful situation
where violence is around would probably resort to a fight to resolve their differences.
In
sport, why should we expect any difference. In events such as hockey games, where
people are expected to hit and make body contact, sooner or later a fight will break out
and the fans will yell and scream for their favourite player involved. Like anything, if
people around us are applauding us for a certain act we have done, we will try to do it
over so that we will continue to be praised. In sports, there are some players whose
only
role on the team is to protect and enforce the unwritten rules of the game such as in
hockey where it is not right to fight or hit a Wayne Gretezy or Mario Lemieux type of
star
player. His economic incentive is to protect the team and if he does not, a new line of
work might be in the future. All three of those theories relate closely to the role of
the
fighter in sport and why it is that he does commit the acts of violence. When leagues
such
as the National Football League (NFL) or the National Hockey League (NHL) are asked
to try and remove the violence from their sport, they are hesitant because it is not what
the
fans want. Bryant and Zillman report that television viewers enjoy NFL plays more when
they are rough and violent (McPherson 294). 
Why should these leagues remove the violence that is occurring if they are making
money and keeping people employed. The fans of the games want to see these situations
and eliminating the fighting aspect would hurt the support. When I watch a hockey game
or any other sporting event with contact, there is nothing better than seeing a good
fight
take place. One of the best-selling videos in parts of the Northeastern United States
has
been a collection of the best fights in the NHL (McPherson 294). Even former NHL
president Clarence Campbell felt that the violence taking place in his sport was called
for
and was reluctant to remove the fighting and the body contact because he knew that it is
what the majority of hockey fans want. 
Fighting is a well-established safety valve for players. If violence ceases to exist, it
will not be the same game. Insofar as fighting is part of the show, we certainly sell it.
We
do not promote it. We tolerate it and we bring it under disciplinary control which we
believe satisfies the public (Snyder 201). Its better that the violence take place
between
two willing combatants such as in sports than in a situation involving spousal abuse
where
the majority of the times the female is being attacked against her consent. Allowing
people
not to be able vent their frustrations through sport in my mind would increase the
violence
that is happening away from the playing field. It is a known fact that sports does keep
kids
off the street and away from gangs which is why you see so many athletic and boxing
clubs being run out of the inner city. It is allowing the youth to take that hostility
out on a
willing participant who is ready and consenting rather than against an innocent
bystander. 
Some individuals have gone as far as saying that sport is creating a deviant
subculture where these athletes are becoming the opposite of what was intended for them.
The emphasis in formalized sport on victory may, in fact, promote deviant behaviour and
poor sportsmanship (Snyder 101). 
I would have to totally disagree with the above quote because being an athlete
myself, I can never recall a time when I could have related my deviant behaviour to my
sporting past. Sports does not promote poor sportsmanship, it creates a drive to succeed
within yourself and to try to do the best at whatever you do whether it be in sports,
school
or at a job. The violence that is occurring today is not occurring more than it was ten
or
twenty years ago like some people might suggest, it is only being shown and talked about
more by the mass media. If there is one group to blame for the increase in violence I
feel
that it would be the media, not the athletes themselves. If you turn on the television
to
watch a sportscast, it will always glorify an act of violence like a hit of the night or
repeats of some type of fight whether it be in hockey, boxing or a bench-clearing brawl
in
baseball. I can recall on numerous occasions where the media has hyped up a hockey game
involving two toughguys and creating a hysteria in sporting world wanting to see the
outcome of the fight. Is this wrong for the media to be encouraging and glorifying the
violence in sport? I don't think so because the fans want to see it and like it or not,
it is
here to stay. Look at sports like boxing for example, who relies on the media to
increase
the sports fans interest in an upcoming match. When you can only fit approximately
17,000 people into a Las Vagas boxing arena, the money is not made at the gate
(Lunney 39). Millions and millions of dollars are gathered from pay-per- view television
where again millions of spectators are waiting to see the outcome of a match like the
one
two weeks ago involving Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno where Tyson made an easy $30
million Lunney 39). We as society are attracted to this sort of sport violence and there
is
nothing we can do about it to change it. 
Should we take steps to discourage the violence in sports is a question that is being
asked today due to the glorification of certain events like University of
Moncton-University of Prince Edward Island hockey game where a referee was assaulted
on the ice after disallowing then allowing the same goal. This kind of violence occurs
very
little in the sport of hockey considering the amount of games that are played throughout
the year. Sure there are acts like these but they are not the norm. It would be hard to
eliminate violence that is in sport because it has been there for so long and is a part
of the
game. Fans do not want to see it be removed because it is sometimes the only part of the
game that is interesting if the game is dull. Players know that a good, solid hit or a
bit fight
can sometimes put momentum on their side giving them extra drive to pull ahead in the
game. Violence in sport is not having a negative effect on society, it is only allowing
fans
to enjoy themselves while they are watching a particular sport. Yes there are instances
where players and fans do go overboard and get carried away causing fights and
sometimes riots, but it is not very often. When it does happen, it is glorified so that
people
think sports are played by bozos and goons who can only fight. The violence that is in
sport is here to stay and should be left that way so that the real fans who know what is
going on can enjoy the sport that they have took an interest in instead of media types
and
others who do not have a clue in what they are talking about when saying that the
violence
in sports should be eliminated. 
Bibliography
Aberdeen, R. (1995, Mar.). Participant observation and research into football
hooliganism: Reflections on the problems of entree and everyday risks. Sociology
of Sport Journal 12, 1-20. 
Family Violence Prevention Fund. Calling foul: Sports and domestic violnce.
http//.www.icg.apc.org/fund/men/sports. html
Gantz, W. (1995, Mar.). Fanship and the television sports viewing experience.
Sociology of Sport Journal 12, 56-74. 
Lapchick, R. (Ed.). (1986). Fractured focus. Lexington, MA.: Lexington Books. 
Lunney, D. (1996, March 26). Refs on run: Abuse of officials on rise in Manitoba.
Winnipeg Sun, p. 39. 
McPherson, B. D., Curtis, J. E., & Loy, J. W. (1989). The social significance of sport.
Champaign, IL.: Human Kenetics Books. 
Messner, M. A., & Sabo, D. F. (1994). Sex, violence and power in sports. Freedom, CA.:
The Crossing Press. 
Snyder, E. E., & Spreitzer, E. A. (1983). Social aspects of sport. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ.:
Prentice-Hall Inc.