Violence In Sports Essay Research Paper violenceWith

Violence In Sports Essay, Research Paper violence With the increase in society taking a stance against violence by many people, sports has become an areawhere some feel that the violent acts such as the hitting and fighting that occurs should be eliminated.You can not change something that has been around for so long because it would change the aspect of thegame to something completely different. The elimination of violence should not be done in sport becausethe violence is a part of the game which would only hurt its popularity. The reasons that the violence is occurring in sport is due to six theories according to JohnSchneider. “The violence in sport mirrors the violence found in society, violence as the result ofeconomic incentives, the influence of crowd behavior on

player violence, genetic causation for playeraggression, learning theory and player aggression, and psychological stress and player violence”(Lapchick 230). The theories of sport mirroring society, violence as a result of economic incentive, and theinfluence of the crowd behavior are the theories that I feel are responsible for the increasing violencein sports. Most people when involved in a highly stressful situation where violence is around wouldprobably resort to a fight to resolve their differences. In sport, why should we expect any difference.In events such as hockey games, where people are expected to hit and make body contact, sooner or later afight will break out and the fans will yell and scream for their favorite player involved. Likeanything, if people around us are

applauding us for a certain act we have done, we will try to do it overso that we will continue to be praised. In sports, there are some players whose only role on the team isto protect and enforce the unwritten rules of the game such as in hockey where it is not right to fightor hit a Wayne Gretezy or Mario Lemieux type of star player!. His economic incentive is to protect the team and if he does not, a new line of work might be in thefuture. All three of those theories relate closely to the role of the fighter in sport and why it isthat he does commit the acts of violence. When leagues such as the National Football League (NFL) or the National Hockey League (NHL) areasked to try and remove the violence from their sport, they are hesitant because it is not what the fanswant.

“Bryant and Zillman report that television viewers enjoy NFL plays more when they are rough andviolent” (McPherson 294). Why should these leagues remove the violence that is occurring if they are making money andkeeping people employed. The fans of the games want to see these situations and eliminating the fightingaspect would hurt the support. When I watch a hockey game or any other sporting event with contact,there is nothing better than seeing a good fight take place. “One of the best-selling videos in parts ofthe Northeastern United States has been a collection of the best fights in the NHL” (McPherson 294). Even former NHL president Clarence Campbell felt that the violence taking place in his sport wascalled for and was reluctant to remove the fighting and the body

contact because he knew that it is whatthe majority of hockey fans want.Fighting is a well-established safety valve for players. If violence ceases to exist, it will not bethe same game. Insofar as fighting is part of the show, we certainly sell it. We do not promote it.We tolerate it and we bring it under disciplinary control which we believe satisfies the public (Snyder201). Its better that the violence take place between two willing combatants such as in sports than ina situation involving spousal abuse where the majority of the times the female is being attacked againsther consent. Allowing people not to be able vent their frustrations through sport in my mind wouldincrease the violence that is happening away from the playing field. It is a known fact that sports doeskeep