Sports Violence in Relation to Preserving Values in Society

Bench clearing brawls in baseball, bloody hockey fights, soccer mobs, post-game

sports riots, and increasing injuries are all images of today’s sports that are familiar to us.

In recent years players and fans alike have shown increased aggression when it comes to

sporting events. One of the most disturbing trends in sports is the increasing frequency

and severity of violence. Injuries and deaths among participants are on the rise, as are

injuries and deaths among fans and spectators. Violence in sports is an important issue

because sports themselves are an important aspect in our lives and the society we live in.

Their importance, however, should not be greater than our concern about preserving the

values and aspects of our society.

The problem of sports violence has become a worldwide phenomenon, that is an

unacceptable, growing social problem. Sports violence can be defined as behavior by a

player, coach, or fan that is intended to inflict pain or cause injury (Berger 8). Sports

violence causes harm, breaks the rules of the game, and is unrelated to the competitive

objectives of the sport.

Leonard identifies two forms of aggression in sports: Instrumental aggression,

which is non-emotional and task-oriented and reactive aggression, which has an underlying

emotional component, with harm as its goal(165). Violence is the outcome of reactive

aggression. There are three major theories of aggression in sports: The biological theory,

psychological theory, and the social learning theory(Leonard 170-171). The biological

theory sees aggression as a basic, innate human characteristic, in which sports is seen as a

socially acceptable way to discharge built-up aggression(170). The psychological theo...

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...ect for authority, but that we have lost respect for each other. Our society’s

preoccupation with winning has caused sports stars to play with the intensity of emotion,

which leads to violence. While most occurrences of violence come from players, others,

including coaches, parents, fans, and the media, also contribute to the increasing violence

in sports today. Fans seem to emulate the violence they watch in sports and spectator

violence is increasing as participant injuries rise(Yeager 11). Mass media contributes to

the acceptability of sports. It provides exposure to sports-related violence via television,

magazines, newspapers, and radio, which provides many examples to children who may

imitate such behavior. Also it often glamorizes players who are controversial and

aggressive. Reading this, I couldn’t help but think of the honorable Mike Tyson.