Violence in sports: causes, consequences, and prevention strategies

¶ … Addiction to Violence in Sports

Sports

Violence is a part of human nature. Violence is a natural part of existence. Human beings have some of the greatest tendencies and great potential for abuse of violence as a means of communication or action. Each person is capable of violence, but that possibility does not mean that that person overall is violent. There are a number of ways in which humans beings can exercise their urges for violence in healthy and productive ways. Participating in sports and sporting events is one such activity where humans can demonstrate violent behavior(s) within specific parameters (game rules) and there be no grave consequences. By the very nature of sports, successful and exceptional players demonstrate at least a moderate level of violence as part of their participation; the violence displayed need not be upon opposing players, though that is a facile example. Violence is sports can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. The paper serves as an examination and discussion of the issue of violence in sports. There is not avoiding violence in sports; violence in sports, when performed within prescribed parameters, is a safe environment for violence than in other areas of personal or professional life.

Just as violence in life is a fact, violence is in sports is a fact.

Sports are based on motivation theories since the core of athletic competition is linked to the human compulsion towards excellence and superiority. Thus, it seems logical to accept that sports are based on human motives (e.g. compulsion to win), which if not adequately fulfilled, can elicit extreme behavioral patterns (e.g. violent acts), which in turn are the byproducts of repressed aggression. (Hardcastsle, Sports Violence)

Violence may not be necessity of the game, but there is the drive to win, which can lead to violence. The players are not necessarily inherently violent people, but when put under specific conditions, rules, and goals, violent behaviors are likely to manifest. Sometimes violence occurs accidently. Sometimes acts of violence are necessary to the game or activity's function. For example, in Nascar race driving, the competition is more about speed and agility, but often those competitions end quite violently because of a brutal and graphic crash. The crash is a violence performed upon the driver, as well as any other drivers, fans, and pit crews who may be injured as a result or otherwise indirectly of the crash. The violence is not an intentional aspect or rule of the competition, yet it exists. In the many instances of races where there are no crashes, the competition among the racers can still be considered violent, but certainly to far less a degree than a situation where there is a crash. The drivers are not necessarily violent people; the race is not predicated on violence, yet there is a violence within the sport that is almost everpresent.

There are plenty of other sporting examples where violence is integral to the demonstration of skill and of the sport. Martial artists, boxers, and American football players must be violent as a part of their sport. Lacrosse and ice hockey are also popular and competitive sports where violence is a key aspect to the game. Boxing is a sport of violence, as is wrestling (professional and Greco-Roman). Boxing is quite simply too men (or women) beating each other in a strategic manner, so as to knock them unconscious, knock them to the floor with such for that they remain there for at least ten seconds, and/or induce enough internal & external damage that the match must be stopped. It does not get much more violent than that, except for maybe mixed martial arts matches. Audience members enjoy the violence, savor the violence, and often wish they could be a part of the violence personally. This is a reason why video games that mimic boxing, MMA, football, and even soccer are so very popular, particularly in cultures where violence is prevalent in real life as well as in media representations, such as the United States of America.

Violence does not always lead to further violence. By exorcising one's violent tendencies through sports activities, one may actually be more peaceful, calm, and tranquil because of participation in sports. Often athletes who gain press attention for acts of violence outside of their respective sporting event cast a pejorative shadow upon sports and upon athletes. The violent behavior of the few does not represent the overall sentiments and personalities of the many. The general public does not often receive press about athletes who participate in some of the most violent sports imaginable performing charity work or participating in calming hobbies such as yoga or ikebana.