VIOLENCE IN SPORTS PHED 1007 FEBRUARY 11, 2015

OVERVIEW Examine violence in sport Look at specific types of violence: Men and women Commercialization Spectator violence

WHAT IS VIOLENCE? Violence: Use of excessive _________________, which causes or has the potential to cause harm or destruction Is it always “bad”?

RECALL DEVIANCE…WHEN IS VIOLENCE CONSIDERED ________? Different Types of Deviance and Norms Normally accepted range of action Underconformity Overconformity

TYPES OF VIOLENCE Against Social Norms: _______________ Extreme Methods of Social Control/Overconformity: Moral righteousness When in sports do we have: Violence that is based on rejection of norms? Violence that is with norms and is considered appropriate?

VIOLENCE IN SPORT Four Types of Violence in Sport: 1.Brutal body contact: May be considered extreme, but not illegal or criminal. E.g., 1.Borderline violence: Violate rules of the game, but considered by most players and coaches as conforming to the norms of the sport. E.g.,

VIOLENCE IN SPORT Four Types of Violence in Sport: 3.Quasi-criminal violence: Violate formal rules of game, public laws, and informal norms used by players E.g., 4.Criminal violence: Clearly outside the law, condemned by athletes, may be prosecuted by law enforcement officials as crimes

SHOULD IT BE A CRIMINAL CASE? Feb. 21, 2000: Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston Bruins Marty McSorley (Bruins) clubbed Donald Brashear (Canucks) on the head with his stick Braschear: unconscious, grade 3 concussion McSorley: Match penalty & game misconduct Vancouver Crown prosecutor: filed charges, assault with a weapon NHL: Suspended for the rest of the season (23 games) Court found him guilty: 18 month conditional discharge Should this have become a criminal case?

COMMERCIALIZATION AND VIOLENCE IN SPORTS Violence is an important “selling” feature of many sports E.g., Don Cherry’s Rock ‘em Sock ‘em video series Normalizes violence and desensitizes us Does it take away from sports or enhance it? Yet, important to note that violence is not ________ (at least completely) by commercialization Is there a theory that commercialization of violence in sport falls under?

VIOLENCE AND MASCULINITY Note: Violence in sport does not exclusively occur in males! – however ___________ more into boys Violence socialized as a normal part of (some) sports for young males Involvement in violence = prove masculinity, avoid social labels such as “sissy, wimp, etc.”

VIOLENCE AND MASCULINITY “If you take out fighting, what comes next? Do we eliminate checking? Pretty soon, we will all be out there in dresses and skirts” ~ Tie Domi on new rules for partially limiting fighting in the NHL in the 1990s

VIOLENCE AND MASCULINITY “If you don’t like the fighting, go into the kitchen and make a cup of tea” ~ Don Cherry

VIOLENCE AND GENDER How do we view it when women are violent in sport?

SPECTATOR VIOLENCE Noncontact Sports: Spectators rarely engage in violence Contact Sports: Spectators more vocal/emotional; greater incidence of violence Why?

SPECTATOR VIOLENCE _________________ Violence: Most serious and destructive crowd violence occurs during celebrations by spectators Injuries, property damage Often coincides with drinking

Seahawks fans after Superbowl victory (February 2014).

SPECTATOR VIOLENCE Other “Crowd” Violence: Can include: ______________ throwing (bottles, batteries, etc.) Use of firearms/weapons Field invasions Property destruction Fighting Disorder Post-event riots

FACTORS RELATED TO VIOLENCE AT SPORTS EVENTS If spectators ___________ players’ actions on the field as violent they are more likely to engage in violent acts If event is hyped by violent images, spectators are more likely to perceive violence during the game

FACTORS RELATED TO VIOLENCE AT SPORTS EVENTS More likely to occur if: ____________________ travel to the game in buses/train Tickets relatively cheap Younger age Alcohol Arena/stadium is crowded Young men Special rivalry between teams

FACTORS RELATED TO VIOLENCE AT SPORTS EVENTS Emotional ________________: People synchronize their personal emotions with the emotions expressed by those around them New norms are formed rapidly “Crowd” mentality

CONCLUSION Violence in sports has several different meanings within the field of sociology of sport