Sports Violence Essay Research Paper Sports violenceThe

Sports Violence Essay, Research Paper

Sports violence

The Growing Problem of Violence in Sports

Bench clearing brawls in baseball, bloody hockey fights, soccer mobs, post-game

sports riots, and increasing injuries are all images of today s sports that are familiar to

us. In recent years players and fans alike have shown increased aggression when it

comes to sporting events. One of the most disturbing trends in sports is the increasing

frequency and severity of violence. Injuries and deaths among participants are on

the rise, as are injuries and deaths among fans and spectators. Violence in sports is an

important issue because sports themselves are an important aspect in our lives and the

society we live in. Their importance, however, should not be greater than our concern

about preserving the values and aspects of our society. The problem of sports

violence has become a worldwide phenomenon, that is an unacceptable, growing social

problem.

Sports violence can be defined as behavior by a player, coach, or fan that is

intended to inflict pain or cause injury (Berger 8). Sports violence causes harm, breaks

the rules of the game, and is unrelated to the competitive objectives of the sport.

Leonard identifies two forms of aggression in sports: Instrumental aggression, which is

non-emotional and task-oriented and reactive aggression, which has an underlying

emotional component, with harm as its goal (165). Violence is the outcome of reactive

aggression. There are three major theories of aggression in sports: The biological theory,

psychological theory, and the social learning theory (Leonard 170-171). The biological

theory sees aggression as a basic, innate human characteristic, in which sports is seen as

a socially acceptable way to discharge built-up aggression (170). The psychological

theory states that aggression is caused by frustration and is situational (170). In sports,

frustration can be caused by questionable calls by officials, failure to make a certain

play, injuries , heckling from spectators, or taunts by coaches and players. The social

learning theory maintains that aggressive behavior is learned through modeling and

reinforced by rewards and punishments (171). Each of these theories could play a role

in the increasing violence in sports. Athletes may be seeing sports as an outlet to vent

there frustration and anger. Young athletes often take sports heroes as role models and

imitate their behavior, which may lead to children imitating such aggressive behavior in

their own sporting activities.

Many continue to argue that sports have always been violent and that today

things are no better or worse than they were years ago. However, according to Berger,

evidence contradicts this and sources show there are more serious injuries and violent

acts on and off the field in today s sports than there were in the past(9-10). Violence in

sports is not a new concept, but it is more prevalent and harmful today than it was in

the past (Yeager 126). There has been an increase in the frequency and seriousness of

acts of violence, which is most prevalent in team contact sports, such as ice hockey,

football, soccer, rugby, and even basketball. This is likely due to the increased

competitiveness in sports. The strive for competitiveness starts in youth sports and

only escalates in college and professional sports (Berger 12). The greater the importance

placed on winning, the more violent the play is likely to become. Emotion is another

element of sports that can easily turn into violence. Competitive sports are emotional

events and when emotions get out of control violence is inevitable. According to Aaseng,

most of the violence in modern sports happens not because of the nature of sports, but

because society does not value the control of emotions held by the code of sportsmanship

(35). In sports, as in other aspects of our lives, the problem is not so much that we have

lost respect for authority, but that we have lost respect for each other. Our society s

preoccupation with winning has caused sports stars to play with the intensity of emotion,

which leads to violence.

While most occurrences of violence come from players, others, including coaches,

parents, fans, and the media, also contribute to the increasing violence in sports today.

Fans seem to emulate the violence they watch in sports and spectator violence is

increasing as participant injuries rise (Yeager 11). Mass media contributes to the

acceptability of sports. It provides exposure to sports-related violence via television,

magazines, newspapers, and radio, which provides many examples to children who may

imitate such behavior. Also it often glamorizes players who are controversial and

aggressive. However, the exposure given to sports violence by the media sometimes

stimulates increased efforts to control and prevent such behavior.

Soccer is a spor

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