Sports in Society:Issues and Controversies

Chapter 6Violence in Sports:

Does It Affect Our Lives?

Statements about violence in sports may be confusing because people fail to define important terms.

Definition of Violence

Theuseofexcessivephysicalforce,whichcausesorhasobviouspotentialtocauseharmordestruction

***v Violence isnotalwaysillegalordisapproved.

§ Itmaybepraisedasnecessarytoachievegoalsv When violence involveswidespread

rejectionofnorms,itmaysignalanarchy.v When violence involvesextreme

overconformitytonorms,itmaysignalfascism.

Violenceisprimarilyaboutcontrol.Violenceworks.Itmakespeopledowhatthey otherwisewouldnot.Itgovernsthethinlinebetween lifeanddeath. —AllanG.Johnson,sociologist,2013

Definition of aggression

Verbalorphysicalactionsgroundedinanintenttodominate,control,or

doharmtoanotherperson***

v Aggression isnotthesameastryinghardorbeingassertiveandachievementoriented.

v Intimidation referstowords,gestures,andactionsthatthreatenviolenceoraggression.

Violenceinsportsisnotnew,butnotallsportsareviolent.

Violence in sports history

v Researchshowsthatviolence wasmoresevereinthepast,bothonandoffthefield.

v Ratesofsportsviolence havenotincreasedovertime.

v Violence insportsisanissuetodaypartlybecauseitmayreproducegenderideologythatprivilegesmenoverwomenatthesametimethatitendangersmanymen.

Serioussporthasnothingtodowithfairplay.

Itisboundupwithhatred,jealousy,boastfulness,disregardofallrulesandsadisticpleasureinwitnessingviolence:

inotherwords,itiswarminustheshooting.

—GeorgeOrwell,1945

Types of on-the-field violence

1. Brutalbodycontact

2. Borderlineviolence

3. Quasi-criminalviolence

4. Criminalviolence

Whenviolenceisassociatedwithexcellence,athletesmaylearntoseeitasanormalpartofsports.

PhotobyJayCoakley

Violence on-the-field as overconformity to the sport ethic (I)

v Coachesmayexpectplayerstouseviolence.v Violence oftenattractsmediaattention.v Playersmaynotlikeviolence,butmost

acceptitaspartofthegame.v Quasi-criminalandcriminalviolence are

routinelyrejectedbyathletesandspectators.

(continued)

Violence as overconformity to the sport ethic (II)

v Violence mayberelatedtoinsecuritiesinhigh-performancesports.

v Expressionsofviolence arerelatedtomasculinity,butnotlimitedtomen.

v Physicalityandfacingviolence createsdramaandexcitement,strongemotions,andspecialbondsofmutualsupportamongathletes.

Commercialization and violence

v Someathletesarepaidtodoviolence.

v Commercializationandmoneyexpandthevisibilityofviolence insportsandencourageapromotionalrhetoricthatusesviolentimages.

v Violence isnotcausedbyTVandmoney—itexistedlongbeforeTVcoverageandbigsalaries.

Ifwewanttounderstandviolenceinsports,wemustunderstandgenderideologyandissuesofmasculinityinculture.

Violence & masculinityvViolence is grounded in

general cultural norms.

vViolence in sports is not limited to men.

vPlaying power and performance sports often are ways to prove masculinity.

Doingviolenceinsportsisnotlimitedtomales.

Women UFC fighters disrupt orthodox gender ideology, but reaffirm an emphasis on domination that works to their disadvantage

Violence in sports and gender ideology

v Doing violence in sports reproduces the belief that “men are superior to women.”

v Power and performance sports, when they encourage violence, emphasize differences between men and women.

v Sports violence reproduces an ideology of male entitlement.

Violence is institutionalized in some sports

v Innon-contactsports,violence isusuallylimitedtousingviolentimagesinverbalstatements.

v Maleplayerslearntouseviolence asastrategy.§ Incontactsports,enforcersandgoons

arepaidtodoviolence.

v Femaleplayerslearntouseviolenceasastrategyincontactsports,buttheydon’tuseittoprovefemininity.

Incertainsports,violenceistaughtasastrategy.

Violence is most likely when:

Sports are organized in ways that

vProduce hubris

vSeparate athletes from the communityvEncourage athletes to think that others do

not deserve their respect

Pain and injury as the price of violence

v Aparadoxintoday’ssports:Peopleacceptviolencewhilebeingconcernedaboutinjuriescausedbyit.

v Disablinginjuriescausedbyviolence areaseriousprobleminsomesports.

v Dominantideasaboutmasculinityarerelatedtohighinjuryratesinmen’ssports.

90%ofallseriousinjuriesincollegefootballoccuronlegalplays.

Brutal body contact, head trauma and brain damage

Asresearchshowsthatconcussionsandrepetitivesub-concussiveheadtraumacancausebothtemporaryandpermanentbraindamage,somepeoplearebeginningtoquestiontheexistenceofcollisionsports.p Vestedinterestsinthesesportsaresostrongthatmany

peoplerefusetoheedwhatscienceissayingp Thereisnoformofheadgearthatpreventsthebrainfrom

hittingtheinsideoftheskullduringviolentcollisionsorrapidheadrotation;helmetsprovidetheillusionofsafety.

Controlling on-the-field violence

v Brutalbodycontactisthemostdifficultformofviolence tocontrol.§ Mostinjuriesoccuron“legalhits.”

v Themosteffectivestrategiesmightinvolve:§ Suspensionsforplayers§ Finesforteamowners

Ultimatefighting(aka cagefighting)isorganizedaroundbrutalbodycontactandborderlineviolence;rulesexistonlytoremainalegalsportinU.S.states.

Off-the-field violence control vs carryover

Researchsuggeststhattherelationshipbetweenviolenceon-the-fieldandviolenceoff-the-fielddependson:§ Themeaningsthatathletesgivetotheir

on-the-fieldactions§ Thecontextinwhichathletesseekand

maintainstatusoffthefield

Learning to control violence through sports

Controlmaybelearnedifsportculturesemphasize:

p Non-violencep Self-controlp Respectforselfandothersp Physicalfitnessp Patience

Assault&sexualassaultratesbymaleathletes

v AssaultandsexualassaultbymalesareseriousproblemsinUnitedStatesandmanyothersocieties§ Tofocusonlyonathletesdistractsattentionfromthe

largerproblemofviolenceagainstwomen§ Validandreliableresearchonthedynamicsofsuch

violenceperpetratedbyathletesisdifficulttodo§ Sexualassaultandrapearevastlyunderreported

crimesduetop genderrelationsp popularmisconceptionsaboutthemeaningof“no”p policeinvestigationsthatareinsensitivetorapevictims

Research-based hypotheses about male athletes’ violence against women (I)

Violenceisrelatedto

1. Supportfromfellowathletesforusingphysicalforceasinterpersonalstrategy

2. Perceivedculturalsupportfordominationasabasisforstatusandidentityamongmen

3. Socialbondscreatedbycollectiveover-conformitytothenormsofthesportethic

(continued)

Violenceisrelatedto4. Collectivehubris amongathletesandthe

notionthatoutsidersdonotdeservetheirrespect

5. Thebeliefthatwomenare“groupies”insportworlds

6. Institutionalsupportforeliteathletesregardlessoftheiractions

7. Institutionalfailurestoholdathletesaccountablefordeviance

Hypotheses about male athletes’ violence against women (II)

Violence among spectatorsv Violence isnotusuallyaproblemamongspectators

watchingnon-contactsports

v Violence isoccasionallyaproblemamongspectatorswatchingcollisionsportsbutthecausesofthatviolencevariesbysituation.

v Evidenceindicatesthat§ ratesofspectatorviolencetodayarelower

thanratesinthepast§ Nearlyallsportspectatorviolenceinvolvesmen

Spectator violence and the context in which events occur

v Spectatorsbringwiththemthehistories,issues,controversies,andideologiesofthecommunitiesinwhichtheylive.

v Whentensionsandconflictsareintenseandwidespread,confrontationsmayoccur.§ Sporteventsmaybeusedassitesforconfrontations.

v Racial,ethnic,andclassdivisionsincreasethelikelihoodofviolence.§ Nearlyallspectatorviolenceinvolvesyoungermen.

Thelanguageusedbysportspectatorsreferstoviolence,butaretheyareviolentpeople?

Thereislittleresearchonspectatorviolenceinvenueswherecrowdswatcheventsonlargeoutdoorscreens.

PhotobyJayCoakley

Researchisneededoncelebratoryviolenceassociatedwithcertainsports.Thisviolenceisdifficulttocontrol

whenitoccursindiverselocationsawayfromthestadium.

Spectator violence worldwidep Violence is always related to the context in

which it occurs; it is most likely when n Male spectators are unemployed an alienated from

society generallyn Groups of male spectators see violent confrontations

with police or opposing fans as a means of creating excitement and gaining status

n Male spectators use the stadium as a site for expressing nationalism, racism, extreme positions on social issues, political opposition to local or national officials perceived as autocratic and corrupt.

Spectator panicsp Morespectatorshavebeenkilledinmasspanics

andaccidentsatsporteventsthanfromanyintentionalviolence

p Panicsarelinkedwithmanyfactors,buttheyarefueledbyemotionalcontagion, ortherapidformationofsocialnormsthatlargenumbersofpeoplefollowsimultaneously

p Themostcommonfactorindeadlypanicsisalackofescaperoutes.n Whenthousandsofpeoplefleeinfearandhita

blockedexit,peoplearecrushedandtrampled.

Post-event violencep Celebratoryriots

n Thesewereoftendefinedasoverexuberant fansexpressingteamloyalty—untilsomeonehadtopayforthedestructiontheycaused.

n Somepoliceforces(inmanycollegecampustowns,forexample)havelearnedtoanticipatetheseriotsandhowtodisbursecrowdswithoutcreatingconfrontations

p Frustrationriotsn Thesearerare;theyusuallyoccurinresponsetoaperceived

injusticethatdeterminestheoutcomeinthefinalminutesofagame;violencebetweenplayersoftenisaprecipitatingincident

p Bothoftheseformsofriotsarelinkedwiththeextenttowhichateamisasourceofspectators’identities

Crowd dynamics and situational factors related to spectator violence

ü Crowd sizeü Composition of crowdü Meaning and importance

of eventü History of relationship

between teamsü Crowd control strategies

at event

ü Alcohol consumption by spectators

ü Location of eventü Motivations for attending

the eventü Importance of teams as

sources of identity for spectators

Controlling crowd violence

Be aware of the following factors:1. Perceived violence on the field is

positively related to crowd violence2. Crowd dynamics and conditions3. Historical, social, economic, and political

issues underlying spectator orientations

v Employvisiblecoachesandathletestogiveanti-violencemessages

vUseonfieldritualstohighlightconnectionsbetweenopponents

vMakespectatorsawareofanti-violencenorms;promotecivilitytowardsotherfans

v Regulatealcoholconsumption

(continued)

Controlling violenceby creating anti-violence norms (I)

v Limittheuseofsocialcontrolmethodsthatdehumanizespectatorsorlimitattendance

v Lawenforcementofficialsmustbewelltrained

v Longtermcontrol dependsontheextenttowhichanti-violencenormsareestablishedandmaintainedinstadiumsandbypeopleinattendanceatevents

Controlling violenceby creating anti-violence norms (II)

Terrorism at sport eventsv Terrorism isaspecialformofviolencedesignedto

intimidateatargetpopulationofpeopleforthepurposeofachievingpoliticalorsocialgoals§ Terrorismoccursmostfrequentlyindividedsocietiesorwhen

oppressedpopulationshaveanoppositionalpoliticalagenda§ Althoughsporteventsappeartobelikelytargetsforterrorism

duetotheirvisibilityandmediacoverage,fewdeadlyattackshaveoccurredinrecenthistory—acknowledgingp BostonMarathonattackin2013p Domesticterrorismatthe1996OlympicGamesinAtlantap PalestinianattackonIsraeliteamsmembersatthe1972OlympicgamesinMunich,Germany

Terrorism as spectator violence

v Terrorism hasoccurredatsportseventsinthepast(e.g.,1972Olympics).

v Currentthreatsofterrorism haveincreasedsecurityatsportvenues.

vUnderstandingterrorism requiresawarenessofglobalissues.v Sportsdonotexistinsocialvacuums.v Globalproblemsandhostilitiesmaybe

expressedinsportcrowds.

Thethreatofterrorismhasledtobillionsofdollarsofsecurityexpensesatmajorsporteventsworldwide.

Thisisoneofthefactorsthathasincreasedtheexpensesforhostcitiesandnations.

Herearetwoofthethousandsofpolice,military,andprivatesecuritypersonnelondutyforeveryminuteoftheOlympicGamesinLondon.

PhotobyLaraKillick

Thecostofterrorism: