Do Sports Promote Violence?

 
Many of the more popular sports in our society incorporate some sort of violence. This could be getting encouraged to make a hard tackle in football, wanting to knock the puck loose from an opposing player by using a body check in hockey, or trying to “knock out” your challenger in boxing or mixed martial arts. These mentioned examples of violence are accepted in our society because it is integrated into the sports rules, but what of the inadvertent uses of violence in sports?

 

These inadvertent uses can range from starting a fight or “scrum” in hockey just so your team can get a motivational boost by an individual’s actions. Another example can be used in baseball, when a pitcher intentionally gives the opposing batter “chin music” or the pitcher may even hit the batter with the pitch in order to keep the batter from “crowding the plate”. These two examples from hockey and baseball would be considered against the rules of these sports and they are strongly discouraged. It can also result into a serious injury if a hockey player intentionally starts a fight or a pitcher intentionally hits a batter. If a baseball or hockey player decides to act in this aggressive manner, they may be ejected from the game. That begs the question, if it is against the rules, why do players still engage in these aggressive antics?  Many argue that it is simply a part of the unwritten rules of hockey or baseball. This means that these antics are being supported by the many people involved in these sports because it is considered the norm. These violent actions will be ultimately promoted by these sports because they will likely be broadcasted to a mass audience through TV broadcasts. As a result, young children who are fans of these sports will be exposed to violent behavior.

 

As many of you know, people turn to sports to provide them with guidance in life. If people are exposed violent acts in sports, will it lead to more people (especially children) using violence to solve some of their problems? Will people gain a distorted message of sports in general? Would it be better for our society if we stop the broadcasting of violent sports? Do sports inadvertently contribute to a dysfunctional society? Or do these certain actions contribute to a functional society because some in of these mentioned examples, one can be contributing to “team morale”.  These are all difficult questions one should ask themselves regarding how sports impact on our society.