(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence in Sports!!! Why and How Bad?

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Definition of Violence The use of excessive physical force, which causes or has the potential to cause harm or destruction Violence is not always illegal or disapproved It may be praised and lauded as necessary in sport contests

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. When violence involves extreme overconformity to norms, it may signal fascism

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Aggression The most discussed term associated with violence in sports and employed to describe angry violent behavior with intent to hurt a person or cause damage to property. An inborn drive similar to sex or hunger (Freud, 1950), may be regulated through discharge or fulfillment Aggression is not the same as assertiveness, competitiveness, or trying hard

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Definition of Aggression Verbal or physical actions grounded in an intent to dominate, control, or do harm to another person Is not an act of a cognitive state Is not accidental, rather intentional Involves both bodily and psychological harm Involves only living being

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Categories of Aggression “Legitimate” (no fault) and “illegitimate” (at fault) aggression Player aggression Personal: harm to oneself Interpersonal: harm to each other Spectator aggression Celebratory Hooliganism

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence in Sports History Figurational research shows that violence was more severe in the past On the field & off the field Rates of sports violence have not automatically increased over time Violence in sports remains a crucial social issue today Sports violence can serve to reproduce an ideology of male privilege

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of On-the-field Violence 1.Brutal body contact 2.Borderline violence 3.Quasi-criminal violence 4.Criminal violence

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. When violence involves widespread rejection of norms, it may signal anarchy

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence As Deviant Overconformity to the Sport Ethic Coaches may expect players to use violence Violence often attracts media attention Players may not like violence, even though most accept it as part of the game Quasi- and criminal violence are routinely rejected by athletes and spectators (continued)

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence As Deviant Overconformity to the Sport Ethic Violence may be related to insecurities in high performance sports Expressions of violence are related to gender, but not limited to men Physicality creates drama and excitement, strong emotions, and special bonds among all athletes, male and female

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Commercialization and Violence Some athletes are paid to do violence Commercialization and money expand the visibility of violence in sports and encourage a promotional rhetoric that uses violent images Violence is not caused by TV and money – it existed long before TV coverage and big salaries Media sometimes promoted violence

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence and Masculinity Violence is grounded in general cultural norms Violence in sports is not limited to men Playing power and performance sports often are ways to prove masculinity

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence Is Institutionalized in Some Sports In contact men’s sports, players learn to use violence as a strategy Enforcers & goons are paid to do violence

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. In non-contact sports, violence is usually limited to using violent images in talk

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. In women’s contact sports, violence may be used as a strategy, but not to prove femininity

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Pain and Injury As the Price of Violence A popular paradox in today’s sports: People accept violence while being concerned about injuries caused by violence Disabling injuries caused by violence in some sports are serious problems Dominant ideas about masculinity are related to high injury rates in men’s sports

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Controlling On-the-field Violence Brutal body contact is the most difficult form of violence to control Most injuries occur on “legal hits” The most effective strategies might involve: Suspensions for players Fines for team owners

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Off-the-field Violence Data on carryover are inconclusive Assault and sexual assault rates among male, heterosexual athletes are a serious problem These behaviors are a serious problem in society as a whole Debates about whether rates are higher among athletes distract attention from the problem of violence in culture

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Learning to Control Violence in Sports Control may be learned if The social world formed around a sport promotes a mindset & norms emphasizing: Non-violence Self-control Respect for self and others Physical fitness Patience

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence Is Most Likely When: Sports are organized in ways that Produce HUBRIS Separate athletes from the community Encourage athletes to think that others do not deserve their respect

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Violence Among Spectators No data on how watching sports may influence violence in everyday relationships Spectators at non-contact sports have low rates of violence Spectators at contacts sports have rates of violence that constitute a problem in need of analysis and control Rates today are lower than rates in the past

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Celebratory Violence This form of violence has not been studied systematically by scholars in the sociology of sport

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Hooliganism Dunning (1983) concluded that hooliganism, is rationalized by its perpetrators as a legitimate adjunct professional soccer activity.

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Hooliganism Mirror of Society Peter Marsh of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford said: "If you had thousands of working- class males congregating on a Saturday afternoon, and there were no fights, that would be very surprising."

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 7.1 Research is needed on celebratory riots associated with sports

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. General Factors Related to Violence at Sport Events 1.Action in the sport event itself 2.Crowd dynamics & the situation in which spectators watch the event 3.Historical, social economic, & political context in which the event is planned and played

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Crowd Dynamics & Situational Factors Crowd size Composition of crowd Meaning and importance of event History of relationship between teams Crowd control strategies at event Alcohol consumption by spectators Location of event Motivations for attending the event Importance of teams as sources of identity for spectators

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Controlling Crowd Violence Be aware of the following factors: 1.Perceived violence on the field is positively related to crowd violence 2.Crowd dynamics and conditions 3.Historical, social, political, & political issues underlying spectator orientations