Violence in Sports

Hockey has always been known to be a physical sport; it is full of body checks, hits from behind, sometimes the misuse of the hockey stick, and even fights. Now all off these are deemed acceptable by hockey fans to a certain extent. When a player swings his stick at another player and an injury occurs to the opposing man the instigator can usually expect to be penalized for a short amount of time, maybe even a suspension from the team for a few games. But when does this violent act on the ice become a criminal offence? Does it take for the recipient to break his neck, or maybe even loose his vision for us to take a serious look at what happened and realize that this is not what we are looking to watch when we sit down to watch a game.

The competitive nature of today's sports associations calls for athletes to be aggressive and forceful , both physically and mentally. This aggressive mentality stays with some athletes off the field, and may explain why so many athletes are committing violent crimes.

According to Boys to Men: Sports Media by Children Now, a national child advocacy, they proposed that “98% of U.S. boys through the ages of 8 to 17 consume some form of sports related media everyday” (2). Our sport programmers display and commend aggressive athletic behaviors to be the most exhilarating part in a sport (3). Many of the violent acts are praised and given credit when a recap occurs to show fans the significant moments that happened during the game. When recapping a moment, sport commentators emphasize these violent plays and use “language of war and weaponry” to describe what is going on (4). Boys often look up to this image of being masculine through speed, danger, and aggression to be normal (Messer, Hunt, Dunbar 10). It has become a norm for athletes to put their life at risk by using aggression in order to meet the expectations of being a winner in

It is not clear if on-field violent behavior leads to off-field violence. It would be somewhat logical to assume that people who become accustomed to using physical intimidation and violence in sport naturally revert to those behaviors when facing conflict outside of sport. However, sport may not be the cause of violence, but rather a result of the athletes’ upbringing or natural disposition, which led them to choose a violent sport to begin with. Drug and alcohol use should also be noted, since they and not sport may be the cause of violence. Alcohol consumption and binge drinking add to the problem of

To understand what the public believes on violence in sports, a survey was conducted among American youths ages 13 to 17 in October of 2000. The Gallup Youth Survey showed that 63 percent of teens said there was too much violence in hockey. In comparison, 41 percent said football was too violent, 25 percent said basketball was too violent, and 17 percent said baseball was too violent. One question that remains though is how does one qualify violence. A study completed in December 2000 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Research tried to do just that. According to the test analysis, 1.69 "acts of aggression" occurred in hockey for every aggressive act in basketball, the only other sport in the study (Grant).

When Indiana Pacer, Ron Artest, charged into the stands with forty-five seconds remaining in a NBA game, last November, between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, the shock waves reverberated immediately. Video clips showed Artest pummeling Pistons fans with his fists. Replays also revealed that it was fans, throwing a cup of beer at Artest, which sent the NBA superstar on his rampage. It was one of the ugliest incidents ever seen in American professional sports. Sports fans and non-sports fans alike witnessed the chaotic outbreak of violence from the serenity of their own living rooms. NBA junkies saw the scene unfold during the game's live broadcast on cable TV. Sports fans caught highlights of the melee on ESPN's

In the arena of sports today there is a continuous subject in every sport hostility and violence. Aggression can be revealed in a lot of dissimilar methods in sports. In baseball hostility can be chucking a pitch inside to a player or gliding into second base and captivating the other basemen. In basketball it can be a foul that is hard and shoving someone to the ground. And in NASCAR it can be somewhat as little at bouncing another vehicle at a race track. Over the past few years aggression and violence in sports is growing bigger and bigger. It seems like you can not go a week or two without the news talking about a fight or argument that has occurred at a sporting event between a couple of players or teams.

Football is the athletic roots of the United States of America’s pastime. It’s part of the culture and history of this nation. It helped shape the way Americans watch sports today. But in today’s world the game has changed. It is changing this nation, and these players, both on and off the field. Concussions, on the field, have become a major commodity, and it raises the question of if it is really worth the risks of what can become of head injuries. Off of the field, there is also an up and coming problem and the NFL is taking a lot of heat for it. Domestic abuse cases are popping up left and right, involving NFL players. Maybe these cases are a coincidence, but maybe there is a relationship between the sport and

Violence, fistfights specifically, in hockey are viewed as deviant because; that very type of violence is statistically rare in institutionalized sports and it is harmful to individuals, the sport of hockey, and society as a whole. This violence also violates the norms that society has created for competitive sport. Because of these harms, the rarity of such violence in sports, and the violation of the norms, a negative societal reaction forms.

Violence in sports is central in measuring success in American culture. The harder he hits that the defensive players lay on their offensive counterparts, the more that fans enjoy watching them play. I can see a correlation between hard hitting defensive players and their popularity during their careers. NFL players, such as Ray Lewis and James Harrison, have made careers out of being the most physical players on the field. Lewis and Harrison’s devastating hits have injured opponents and many people believe they are the top linebackers in the game.

There are two sides to many things, one could argue that there are two sides to everything. Violence is not excluded from this argument. The two possible sides, or viewpoints, that are a result of violence can easily be seen as extremes of either side. One side could argue that violence is something that is necessary and the other argue that violence is only a tool for destruction. People who insist that violence is necessary in order to move forward view it as a way to sway the outcome to their benefit. For those who see violence as a cowardly tactic to control people, violence is a useless display of power and dominance. Yet violence has also been a way to defend oneself from people who pose a threat. This can lead people who have good

In the article, “The Cost of High Stakes on Little League Games” by C.W Nevius, he speaks about an issue that is afflicting youth sports games and that issue is the children’s parents. Nevius is concerned about their behavior because the amount of violence surrounding youth sports has exponentially grown and is starting to become commonplace. He states that many parents take it upon themselves to defend their children or get involved in the game and these actions unfortunately usually end violent because of how aggressive the parents are. Nevius presents examples that clearly affirm what he is saying, one of them includes a father who beat a hockey coach to death because he felt that the coach allowed rough play. He then describes how because

A Football player named Colin Kaepernick is the quarterback for the San Francisco 49er’s he is protesting racial injustice by not standing for the National Anthem.In August, National Football League (NFL) quarterback Colin Kaepernick began refusing to stand for the national anthem. Many people spoke out against the San Francisco 49ers player for his action. In the midst of a divisive election year, an important discussion about race class and violence in this country was almost abandoned by the news media.Then something surprising happened. Many in the sports world supported Kaepernick and his right to protest. Many did so even as they continued to stand with their hands over their hearts for The Star-Spangled Banner.

Everyone agrees that parent involvement is a good thing. But when the parent behaves inappropriately, it creates a poor environment for the children to learn and enjoy themselves. "Sideline rage" with parents behaving badly at youth sports events is such an epidemic, that 76% of respondents from 60 high school athletic associations said increased spectator interference is causing many officials to quit (Associated Press, 6/3/01). Parents are supposed to be role models, and the lessons they teach will determine their values and actions in the future. These days violence in children's sports is not limited to the playing field; overbearing parents are creating dangerous situations on the field.

THESIS: Contact sports have been here since the medieval times. Soccer was also already being put into sport use by china in the dynasties. Implied, players on both teams have agreed to be hit, pushed, shoved, and possibly fought. What can be used for considering when or where a player crosses the line? Using examples from previous court cases, we will examine how players in the NHL could be charged when excessive force against other players in the opposite team come into play. Having hockey being used for an example, we will examine and look at the rules of the NHL, as well as how Todd Bertuzzi from the Vancouver Canucks stepped over the line, and was charged with assault.