The history of violence in sporting events that break the law is appalling. What’s even more appalling is the lack of court involvement in these incidents. All of these acts are beyond what would be classified as acceptable during a game and the criminal code is often violated, but the usual punishment is a penalty or forcing the player to sit out a game. Episodes of criminal violence range from an unnecessary tackle causing a fracture to a fight that causes a player to break multiple bones, and in some cases. Fights started that ended in player deaths. Sporting organizations have been able to maintain a monopoly over most episodes of violence that occur, keeping the courts from prosecuting athletes even when such conduct violates the law. …show more content…
In 2009 adult Americans spent more than $8 million on sports logo apparel. Men were the biggest spenders, accounting for 60.9% of the spending while women a mere 39.1% (“Americans Spent More then $8”). Along with the billons spent on merchandise a year comes the immense amount of time watching sports. Of the 45 most-watched TV broadcasts of all time 21 are Super Bowls. “In 2002, the NFL found that the average male surveyed spent nearly seven hours a week watching its product” (Allott). The massive amount of money and time spent watching sports is what keeps them alive; a sudden drop in the numbers would be disastrous. But what could cause such a drastic drop? A popular player getting kicked off the team for committing an act of violence during gameplay that sends him to court and maybe even jail would be such a …show more content…
The Criminal Code is used everyday in the courts but does not apply to anything that occurs during sporting games. This is due to the fact that sporting organizations have been able to keep a monopoly over any acts of violence that occur during sporting events. These organizations have retained the ability to handle any such incidents behind closed doors away from the courts. The penalty for any act of violence occurring during a sporting event is left in the hands of the sporting organization. The repercussion for the acts of violence range from a penalty to having a player sit out a game, the worst has been kicking the player off of the team, but never anything
Similarly, we discussed the Koffman v. Garnett case in class when Richard and Rebecca Koffman, on the behalf of Andrew, sued Garnett in a Virginia court for gross negligence, assault, and battery. The situation was that Coach Garnett used Andrew Koffman in a tackling demonstration. Therefore, he then proceeded to pick him up 2 feet off the ground and threw him to the ground, injuring him to break his arm. Nevertheless, a sport manager should ultimately realize that liability is a serious risk for any organization and should be extremely careful of the situations by not putting themselves at risk for any liability, since they can face a civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law for their negligent behavior by harmfully injuring another
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
As long as there have been sports, there has been violence in them. Ice hockey, particularly due to its increasing popularity as a professional sport, has brought up several ethical issues regarding the act of fighting in hockey. There are strong arguments for both sides of this present problem in the world of hockey. Numerous male athletes, including children as young as nine years of age, have suffered injuries as an outcome of fighting and it should be considered if it should be part of a sport that very young people grow up with (Brust, Leonard, Pheley & Roberts, 1992).On the other hand, fights create excitement and the sport of hockey might grow in terms of popularity, making the problem of fighting in hockey complex and difficult to resolve (“Towards An Explanation Of Hockey Violence: A Reference Other Approach”). Even though hockey is known to be a very aggressive and fast-paced sport, the unsportsman-like action of fighting in hockey cannot longer be tolerated.
Football is an extremely violent game not only in the physical part but also in the mental part of the game. Players are coach to be vicious on the field. they are taught to get mad and take their aggression out on the other player. Which can be dangerous when two or more players are trying to hurt(intentionally or not) the other player by hitting them hard. High school sports are dangerous because rese...
When people talk about the impact of women in professional sports, they mention one huge concept: Marketing. Marketing to women is a tremendous source of profit for professional sports, but the impact of how women would respond recently became knowledge. However, now the marketing programs of the different professional sports, including the NFL, need to change their approach on marketing to women. Because the NFL still lacks sales to women compared to other professional sports in America, the NFL needs to change their viewpoints on the experience of women in the stadium and the variety of merchandise available for females.
Many people believe that professional athletes are “above the law”. In reality, they are human beings like you and me who, no matter what the circumstances, can and will be charged like an average person. The offense of the crime can certainly come into play on whether or not a professional athlete who commits a crime should be allowed to play again.
March 8th, 2004 was supposed to be nothing more than a competitive and action packed regular season hockey game between feuding rivals, the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks. The game slipped away from the Canucks, with the Avalanche up 6-2 heading into the third period. The heated contested already had its fair share of fighting majors, but an incident that happened late in the third period shocked the more than 18,000 fans in attendance at Rogers Arena, the hockey community, and North America. After failing to instigate a fight with Avalanche forward Steve Moore, Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks grabbed the back of Moore’s jersey, landed a vicious punch to the back of Moore’s head, before slamming him face first on the ice and falling on top of him. Moore had to be helped off the ice on a stretcher, and has never returned to the NHL. Bertuzzi, on the other hand, was suspended for 20 games by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and is still playing in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings. This is one of many examples of deviance in sports, and how a win-at-all costs mentality can drive athletes to act in extreme manners. As a result of the growing commercialization of sports, athletes are socialized at young ages to believe that winning is everything, and that stopping at nothing will help you succeed. Athletes will do almost anything to gain the upper hand in their respective sports, whether it is through engaging in excessive on-field violence or through the use of performance enhancing drugs, excessively committing themselves to their sport, or by violating league rules and policies. In sports, deviance is viewed in a different light than in the outside world. As professional athletes strive towards conforming to spor...
Young, K. (2007). From Violence in Sport to Sports-Related Violence: Widening the Focus. Sport in Society: A Student Introduction, Second Edition. London. Sage Publications.
Football, one of the most popular sports in the U.S., is also the most dangerous; it holds an astounding half a million injuries nationally due to the sheer violence and brute strength used against another player in the sport, and, although it is believed that these injuries can be prevented, there is nothing stopping another player from recklessly hurting another except their will-power, this is why football should be banned from high schools.
Changes can be made to try to make the sport safer, but as time goes on players will continue to get bigger and stronger, and we can’t change the fact that it is a full contact sport. Injuries will be inevitable, some will be minor and others can be fatal. Is a human life worth less than money or entertainment? Players risk the chance of a healthy future every time they step on the field. The human body is not made to take that continuous and ferocious impact game after game. Many players sell themselves short while putting their bodies in harm’s way which increases their probability of health complications down the road. If the violent aspect of the game is not addressed, it will negatively impact the future of players and the sport. Hopefully, the studies and research that is made public can somehow find a way to make the game safer for the players. Until that day comes, football is much too dangerous and not worth the
McMurtry, a former football paper, utilizes comparison, hyperbole, and juxtaposition to effectively develop the idea that American society accepts violence and brutality within sports, which reveals the sadistic side of the world. To repair this attitude, however, all of the violent aspects of sports cannot simply be removed. For example, if the tackling part of football was eradicated, the sport would change completely and, consequently, lose much of what gives the sport its redeeming qualities and entertainment for the audience. Tackling does not make the sport violent; it is the violent characteristics of the players and the coaches combined with the constant encouragement stemming from the audience. Violence is a terrible thing, and it will never be completely removed unless each person works together to suppress their behaviors.
Contact sports in America, like football and boxing, carry a rich history of the spirit of the game, and the feeling of victory. These games bring us together as we cry out and cheer for our team or fighter as they deliver the winning touchdown, or the knockout that brings them the undisputed champion belt. However, these players are facing injuries that can destroy their career and affect their brain for the rest of their lives. We shouldn’t outlaw contact sports, but we should force safety to become more important. If we want to keep our players safe and continue the tradition of the contact sports we enjoy as a country, then we must evolve our safety in sports, and change the way we view contact sports as a country.
Hard checks, high-impact hits, rough blows, knockouts, crushing tackles; some violence occurs naturally in some sports. Those naturally violent sports (e.g., football, hockey, soccer, wrestling, and boxing) with all that aggression and violence excites audiences and enhance enjoyment. However, aggression and violence in sporting competitions are clearly becoming an issue. Destructive aggression is often deliberate and frequently encouraged by coaches, spectators, and teammates. This aggression in becoming increasing accepted by the public and ever popular in today’s sporting events. Michael Strahan a player in the NFL said in 2007 that, “It’s the most perfect feeling in the world to know you’ve hit a guy just right, that you’ve maximized the physical pain he can feel….. You feel the life just go out of him. You’ve taken all this man’s energy and just dominated him” (Coakley, 2008). Clearly, Strahan’s words show the acceptance of aggressive behavior and even glorify this aggression.
In the world of professional sports there are many criminal acts that are committed both on and off the playing surface. In this section we are going to look at a few cases where criminal acts have occurred.
obsessed by those sports and by taking a sport away from them, could ruin their