Reflection Paper: Violence in Sport
Violence is a reality within our day-to-day lives. We see it everywhere from television, in schools, in sports and many more. Violence is such a broad topic because there are so many different definitions based on different peoples perspectives. In my opinion, violence is the physical contact that is intended to harm, hurt, or injure another individual, animal, or object whether that is physically or mentally. With that in mind, my question to you is why are some acts of violence criminal while others are not?
In regard sports, the question surrounding violence within sports is highly controversial. Do you believe violence should be banned within sports? Take hockey for example, aside from contact like checking, do you believe there should be fighting within hockey? In my opinion I believe that the reason why violence in hockey is acceptable is because of a variety of different factors. Imagine hockey without fighting… bizarre right? The reason why it’s so bizarre is because of its history and the influence it has as a part of our culture. There is no other sport that gets the adrenaline pumping quite like hockey and that brings a crowd to their feet like a hockey fight. The National Hockey League (NHL) is not just the only league where violence occurs. Hockey culture and the norms within the sport have a domino affect that stems from the NHL to the minors, to college, and youth levels of hockey. Violence in hockey has become a specialized, marketable skill, for example having players who are the “grinders” where their role is simply to act as the aggressors, to take penalties, and to fire up the team with a fight.
Another important question that is raised when discussing violence in sport, specifically hockey, is whether or not on-ice violent behavior leads to off-ice violence. It can be suggested that players who have become accustomed to using physical violence within a game, naturally participate in a more aggressive behavior when dealing with conflicts outside of sport. Take for example the sexual assault case on a 21-year-old woman attending Lakehead’s Thunder Bay campus on the night of February 2, 2014. The two accused, David Foucher and Guillaume Donovan were players on the University of Ottawa’s Men’s Ice Hockey team. The incident occurred at a victory party hosted by the University of Ottawa’s men’s team where many students attended. I believe that the sexual assault occurred as a result of the adrenaline from the game, increased testosterone levels from being victorious, and alcohol. These men assaulted their victim as a form of patriarchal power over her. I believe that because they were victorious in sport, they believed they could overcome anything, including taking advantage of a helpless intoxicated woman. Another example although on the ice is the night NHL star Steve Moore’s career came to an end when a player on the opposing team was looking for revenge for a hit laid on Canuck’s captain Markus Naslund. Todd Bertuzzi attacked Moore from behind, punched him, and slammed him head first into the ice. Two more players jumped on him while he was down and after lying motionless on the ice for ten minutes; he was taken off the ice by a stretcher. Do to these violent actions; Moore was never to play another game again.
As someone who has played hockey my entire life I personally believe that violence is a natural part of the sport. However as someone who has experienced several concussions and injuries based off of the aggressive nature of the sport I believe that players can maintain the intimidating factors however have rules in place that cause less harm to players and have increased penalties for those who break the rules. I can see why people like fighting in the game. I won’t deny it; I stand and cheer when players, coaches, fans, and parents get into it on the ice and in the crowd. Its entertainment and the leagues take full advantage of that, but is there a way to make fighting less dangerous? A few suggestions I have to limit injuries while fighting is to leave the helmet on, and hockey fights are often referred to as “dropping the gloves” but what every league made a rule that forced players to keep their gloves on? Devastating, harmful, and unprotected blows to the head and body would be reduced and fighting wouldn’t be taken out of the game. It seems like a pretty reasonable compromise, what are your thoughts?
