Chicana Hitory Through Oral Tradition Essay, Research Paper
With the increase in society taking a stance against violence by
many people, sports has become an areawhere 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 because it would change the aspect of thegame to something
completely different. The elimination of violence should not be
done in sport becausethe 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
JohnSchneider. “The violence in sport mirrors the violence found in
society, violence as the result ofeconomic incentives, the
influence of crowd behavior on player violence, genetic causation
for playeraggression, 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 theinfluence of the crowd behavior are the
theories that I feel are responsible for the increasing violencein
sports. Most people when involved in a highly stressful situation
where violence is around wouldprobably 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 afight will break out and the
fans will yell and scream for their favorite player involved.
Likeanything, if people around us are applauding us for a certain
act we have done, we will try to do it overso that we will continue
to be praised. In sports, there are some players whose only role on
the team isto protect and enforce the unwritten rules of the game
such as in hockey where it is not right to fightor 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 thefuture. All three of those theories relate
closely to the role of the fighter in sport and why it isthat he
does commit the acts of violence. When leagues such as the National
Football League (NFL) or the National Hockey League (NHL) areasked
to try and remove the violence from their sport, they are hesitant
because it is not what the fanswant. “Bryant and Zillman report
that television viewers enjoy NFL plays more when they are rough
andviolent” (McPherson 294). Why should these leagues remove the
violence that is occurring if they are making money andkeeping
people employed. The fans of the games want to see these situations
and eliminating the fightingaspect 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 ofthe 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 wascalled for and was reluctant to remove
the fighting and the body contact because he knew that it is
whatthe majority of hockey fans want.Fighting is a well-established
safety valve for players. If violence ceases to exist, it will not
bethe 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
(Snyder201). Its better that the violence take place between two
willing combatants such as in sports than ina situation involving
spousal abuse where the majority of the times the female is being
attacked againsther consent. Allowing people not to be able vent
their frustrations through sport in my mind wouldincrease the
violence that is happening away from the playing field. It is a
known fact that sports doeskeep kids off the street and away from
gangs which is why you see so many athletic and boxing clubs
beingrun out of the inner city. It is allowing the youth to take
that hostility out on a willing participantwho 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 wherethese athletes are becoming the opposite of
what was intended for them. “The emphasis in formalizedsport on
victory may, in fact, promote deviant behavior and poor
sportsmanship” (Snyder 101). I would have to totally disagree with
the above quote because being an athlete myself, I cannever recall
a time when I could have related my deviant behavior to my sporting
past. Sports does notpromote poor sportsmanship, it creates a drive
to succeed within yourself and to try to do the best atwhatever 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 thereis one group to blame for the
increase in violence I feel that it would be the media, not the
athletesthemselves. If you turn on the television to watch a
sportscast, it will always glorify an act ofviolence like a “hit of
the night” or repeats of some type of fight whether it be in
hockey, boxing or a bench-clearingbrawl in baseball. I can recall
on numerous occasions where the media has hyped up a hockey
gameinvolving two “tough guys” and creating a hysteria in sporting
world wanting to see the outcome of thefight. Is this wrong for the
media to be encouraging and glorifying the violence in sport? I
don’tthink 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 fansinterest in an
upcoming match. When you can only fit approximately “17,000 people”
into a Las Vegasboxing arena, the money is not made at the gate
(Lunney 39). Millions and millions of dollars aregathered from
pay-per- view television where again millions of spectators are
waiting to see the outcomeof a match like the one two weeks ago
involving Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno where Tyson made an easy
“$30million” Lunney 39). We as society are attracted to this sort
of sport violence and there is nothing wecan do about it to change
it. Should we take steps to discourage the violence in sports is a
question that is being asked todaydue to the glorification of
certain events like University of Moncton-University of Prince
Edward Islandhockey game where a referee was assaulted on the ice
after disallowing then allowing the same goal. Thiskind of violence
occurs very little in the sport of hockey considering the amount of
games that areplayed throughout the year. Sure there are acts like
these but they are not the norm. It would be hardto 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 isinteresting if the
game is dull. Players know that a good, solid hit or a bit fight
can sometimes putmomentum on their side giving them extra drive to
pull ahead in the game. Violence in sport is nothaving 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 andfans 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 canonly fight. The violence that is in sport is
here to stay and should be left that way so that the realfans who
know what is going on can enjoy the sport that they have took an
interest in instead of mediatypes and others who do not have a clue
in what they are talking about when saying that the violence
insports should be eliminated. BibliographyAberdeen, R. (1995,
Mar.). “Participant observation and research into football
hooliganism:Reflections on the problems of entree and everyday
risks.” Sociology of Sport Journal12, 1-20. Family Violence
Prevention Fund. “Calling foul: Sports and domestic
violence”.http//.www.icg.apc.org/fund/men/sports. htmlGantz, W.
(1995, Mar.). “Fanship and the television sports viewing
experience.” Sociology ofSport 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
CrossingPress.Snyder, E. E., & Spreitzer, E. A. (1983). Social
aspects of sport. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.:Prentice-Hall Inc. Abstract
In this essay, the main topic was to show that although there is an
increase in the amount ofviolence that is occuring in sports, it
should not be eliminated from the games that it is being used in.
Although there has been a call by some to have violence such as
fighting and body contacteliminated from games such as hockey, the
reason that it is good to have these acts is because it allowsyou
to vent your fustration out on a willing opponent instead of taking
t out on an unsuspectingindividual like a spouse or child. The
violence that is being used in sports should stay in the game due
to its popularity and forthose who believe that it should be
eliminated should learn what they are talking about before
suchcomments are made to ruin the games that we enjoy.
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