Sports Psychology
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
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You are to complete a ten page, typed, double-spaced essay on one of the following topics:
Violence in Sports
or
Fans and Sports Obsessions
The paper should include relevant research on your topic. You are to compare and contrast research and
ideas that support your opinions with the research you have found. You are free to complete this paper
using the style of your choice provided the following details are addressed:
Use a minimum of three references
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The paper is a minimum length of ten pages, not including cover page and reference page (total 12
pages). You are welcome to go well beyond the 10 pages of written information keeping it within
reasonable limits, not beyond 20 pages.
Sports Psychology: Violence in Sports
Introduction
Sports encompass different genres of games such as football, athletics, and indoor games
among many others. On several occasions, many games report violence across the world for
various reasons. Violence entails use of excessive force that causes or has potential of causing
harm or destruction to others. In sports, violence manifests differently or indirectly in various
games. Some games are violent in nature and this is expected or is the norms. It also occurs in
the field among players. There is on the field and off-the-field violence among players and
violence among spectators that attend sports events and watch these games through media
coverage. Solutions of violence in sports require understanding its history and various situations
under which such violence occurs.
Sports Violence
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Different people hold contrary views about violence in sports. Some argue that violence
is part of many games and, therefore, is indispensable. Others hold view that it is wrong because
it destroys or interferes with the dynamics of the games. Other still feel that it is a reflection of
natural tendencies among male people in society whereas some argue that it promotes the idea
that strength and physical size is a legitimate way of maintaining power (Guilbert, 2006). Studies
assert that violence in sports has changed compared to the past years. In-depth research and
survey is however, the only way to ascertain these assumptions and people’s feelings.
Different types of games require participants to engage in violence. Some games have
rules that bar people from intentionally hurting others even if they come into contact like
football. Games or sports such as wrestling have rules but the participants can physically assault
others. This makes people to perceive violence as normal occurrence in such games.
According to Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald (2011), violence that involves deviant
actions face severe sanctioning, hence, classified as illegal. However, violence is allowed when it
happens with the intention of enforcing social norm or conforms to the norms. Emotions and
psychological instincts among players and fans trigger violence. Sportsmen are human beings
and they experience stress in their lives that affect their minds. Many instances, violence on the
field results from inability to restrain or control one’s emotions or anger. It is important to
understand the history of violence in sports to have a clear picture of the entire scenario to adopt
appropriate measures to solve this menace.
Historical background of violence in sports
According to Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald (2011), violence in sports is not a new
phenomenon as it continues to happen as it did in the past. In ancient Greeks and Roman Empire,
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blood sports were very popular. The sport was violent and participants nursed injuries.
Similarly, among the Mayas and Aztecs, people lost their lives in ritual games (Coakley,
Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). In medieval and early modern Europe, tournaments aimed to train
people for wars and had warlike consequences. Some of the folk games had fewer rules hence;
people nursed injuries and many succumbed to death. Games such as dog fighting, cockfighting,
bearbaiting and other sports activities during the periods were brutal and violent.
However, as the Northern Americans and Europeans embraced civilization, modern
sports emerged. These sports had more organized rules as opposed to the physical games that had
limited rules. As the sports industry continued to develop, more games became organized and
rules became formalized, certain form of violence became prohibitive (Coakley, Hallinan &
McDonald, 2011). Players were required to have self-control to restrict physical combat/contact
and any expression of aggressive impulses as they competed.
Some social historians argue that violence in sports does not automatically decrease over
time. However, emotional expression and actions have become more regulated and controlled in
modern society hence it is something exciting and entertaining for the spectators (Guilbert,
2006). Furthermore, processes of globalization, commercialization and professionalization have
led to new forms of instrumental and dramatic violence in various sports. This has contributed to
increase in entertainment and goal oriented violence.
Regardless of these developments, violence is still a social issue in these modern days as
the major goal is tension creation as opposed to relieving or discharging the tension. In some
societies, patriarchal aggression and violence reproduce ideology that makes the power of men
above that of women (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Sports are, therefore, given
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different meaning by place and time and understanding sports violence can only occur through
analysis in relation to social, historical and cultural context that it to occur. Solutions to this
problem emanates from clear understanding of these analysis and understanding of the
circumstances that triggers such violence.
Violence on the field
Violence comes in many forms grounded on cultural and social factors related to
commercialization, sport ethic, ideas about masculinity and gender ideology, and the dynamics
of race, social class and strategies in sports (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Violence on
the field typology is attributed to Mike Smith a Canadian sociologists. According to these
sociologists, four common types of violence occur on the field. One of the types is brutal body
contact, which includes physical practices in various games such as athletics and football.
Examples of this kind of violence include hits, collisions, blocks, tackles, and many other forms
of physical contacts that cause injuries to the participants (Guilbert, 2006). Such attacks fall
under category of extreme and are not illegal or criminal or do not attract punishment. The rule
of the games provides allowance to such attacks provided they are not committed intentionally
(Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011).
The second type of violence experienced on the field is borderline that includes practices
that go contrary to the rules of the game, however, accepted by most coaches and players as
consistent with the norms of the game (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Examples of
these acts of violence include forcefully placed elbow in football and basketball, brush back
pitch in baseball, strategic bump used by the distance runners to put their competitors of stride
among many others. Even though these attacks are expected, they invoke retaliations from the
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competitors most of them attracting fines and sanctions that are not severe. Public pressure to
increase punishment severity has increased and continues as in the recent past. The third
category of violence witnessed in the field is the quasi-criminal that includes actions that violate
the formal rules of the sports/game, public law and even the formal norms among the players.
Good examples of such actions include late hits, cheap shots, sucker punches, and flagrant fouls
that put players to danger of body injuries (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). These kinds
of violence attract sanctions and fines. The last category is the criminal violence that
encompasses actions that are outside the law and even the competitors question and condemn
them without law enforcement officials (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Such crimes
require persecution and may include assaults during a game such as hitting an opponent with a
hockey stick.
Commercialization and violence in sports
Some of the athletes in competitive games or sports receive good benefits to engage in
violence. This, however, does not come out directly because many do not cite money to be a sole
cause of violence. Commercialization has widened opportunities for people to play certain
contact sports and media coverage makes the sports more visible (Guilbert, 2006). Media
contributes in making these sports appear more violent than they are. Some of sports such as
wrestling and boxing attract higher benefits and therefore, participants as they aspire to get the
crown they are involved in serious physical combat that may injure them. Children that watch
these violent sports may become violent by emulation what the sportsmen do. However, this
does not justify the conclusion that commercialization causes violence in sports.
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Masculinity is another reason why many sportsmen and sportswomen engage in violence
in the field. Men, for instance, are socialized to be strong and not failures, hence, will use all
means possible to remain victors in their sports. This euphoria of masculinity propels them to
take drastic measures such as kicking others just to win over them. Violence is also sometimes
institutionalized in essence that it is used as strategy to win over competitors. This kind of
violence is accepted in some of the games but the aim should not be to cause injuries.
This kind of violence such as brutality may be difficult to manage but it requires that
people or sportsmen and women use violence strategy. They must change their ideology and
cultural paradigm when playing any sports. Furthermore, it is important that stringent measures
be put in place such as severe sanctions and fines as way of discouraging such kinds of violence.
Violence off the field
Research indicates that there is tendency for many of sportsmen to be violent off the field
(Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). These violent behaviors among these sportsmen
manifest because of many factors. Most of people playing violent sports may have used violence
to achieve their success and status (Teitel, 2014). People comfortable with violence sports are
mostly likely to participate in violent behaviors. Unique situational factors that athletes
encounter on the field encourage them to engage in violence acts off the field. They want to
demonstrate their toughness on the field to the members of the public.
This psychological problem will require cognitive directed measures to overcome.
People will have to change their perception about violence. Programs to create awareness on
need to respect one another and sort out differences in a civilized manner need to be encouraged.
Violence at sports event
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Rarely does violence happen at the sports events. Spectators, most of the time attend
games to get fulfillment and to support their teams. They may be emotionally expressive verbally
but they may not direct their violent behaviors to their fellow colleagues, coaches, players and
referees and even police officers (Teitel, 2014). However, this does not mean that violent
incident does not happen. Various incidences of violence have happened in many sports events
leading to injuries. Over-charged emotions among fans and spectators may result to physical
combat and even verbal violence between the fans and the referees and police officers. In 1993
for example, a tennis player Monica Seles sustained injuries after violence erupted in the event
(Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). This is just one of the cases where violence occurred.
Many of the violence cases have arisen because of poor referencing, losing of an important
match on perception of unfair referencing and various misunderstanding between the fans and
the match officiators.
Police have also been involved in this violence. They faced a hard time trying to restore
order especially when the fans attack each other during an event. During such events, many
people are hurt as they are hit by tear gas ganisters while others are hit with blunt objects and
stones scrambling for an escape route.
Research indicates that crowd violence is a complex social phenomenon relating to three
general factors including the action in that particular sport event (Coakley, Hallinan &
McDonald, 2011). Sports that have a lot of physical combat are likely to trigger crowd violence.
Another factor is the dynamics of the crowd and the situation in which the fan watch the match
(Teitel, 2014). For instance, if the crowd is made up of young and violent energetic people, the
chances of violence erupting is higher. Likewise, when the match or game is perceived to be of
great importance in deciding the winning side, tension is higher and this is likely to trigger
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violence among the crowd. The size of the crowd and the standing or pattern of sitting of the
spectators is also very critical contributor to violence. Other factors include; race, social class,
ethnicity of the crowd, importance of the event, crowd control strategies available such as
surveillance cameras, dogs, police, and security measures. Others are alcohol consumption
among the fans, location of the event, reasons for attending the event, importance of the team
such as source of identity and history of relationship between the teams and the fans (Coakley,
Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). The last factor is the social, historical, economic and political
contexts that the event is planned and played. For instance, if the event is played at a time when
political undertones are high, the level of animosity and tension increases and this is likely to
trigger tension among the crowd.
Managing or controlling crowd violent behaviors
One of the ways to maintain social control is by establishing meaningful and visible
connections between the teams and the members of the community. This will help to diffuse
dangerous feelings among the fans and communities. Team players must establish positive
relationship with the members of the community to ensure cohesion and unity.
The authority should also be aware of the social, historical, economic, and political
issues that underlie crowd violence (Stafford, Alexander & Fry, 2013). There should be
restrictive laws and order to ensure that crowd or spectator does not engage in these violent
episodes during an event. Understanding some of the things such as unemployment and racial
discrimination may help to provide an early mitigation of violence by planning on the
appropriate strategies to counter such incidences.
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Awareness of crowd dynamics and conditions that lead to violence is critical in ensuring
that such incidences are prevented (Stafford, Alexander & Fry, 2013). History of violence
among the spectators is required to know whether they are capable of causing distraction to
provide appropriate measures to deal with the same.
There needs to be supporting procedures for managing any instances of violence that
happen during an event. Such procedures should begin with the way officials manage or handle
the game. Players require briefing on how they should contact themselves (Coakley, Hallinan &
McDonald, 2011). Community sporting organizations should as well have procedures to manage
and to prevent violence on the field and off the field by promoting these procedures to the
members on how they need to conduct themselves during such events.
Conclusion
Sports violence is an occurrence that dates back from ancient period in Greek and other
nations. Research studies have provided various types of violence in different games. Many of
these violence incidences in sports occur in various situations such as on-the field, off the field,
among the fans and through commercialization. The magnitude of this violence may vary from
various situations. This is a problem that has seen various bodies and entities come up with rules
and regulations governing sports as one of the strategies of alleviating this problem. It has
become very important to understand these situations or circumstances in which violence occurs
to tailor solutions. Apart from the rules and regulations on governing the games, there has been
need to come up with policies that will as well control off and on the field and violence among
the fans. A number of solutions to prevent sports violence include, stiffer disciplinary measures,
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creation of awareness among the fans and players, fines and sanctions control of emotions,
establishing meaningful connection between players and community, understanding procedures
of managing crowds among many others. I do believe that violence in sports is something that
requires more interrogations with the concerned parties. Sports should promote brotherhood as
well as fair challenge where the competitors compete on fair basis without violence. Peace in any
sports is the responsibility of all of us.
Personal Opinion
Sport remains one of the major fabrics of society that unite people and allows them to
display their talents. Millions of people across the globe cherish and embrace games such as
athletics and footballs, baseball, basketball and yet violence manifests in some of these games in
many forms such as verbal and physical forms that cause psychological as well as physical
injuries, and even death.
Even though some sports allow violence, stakeholders have an obligation to abide by the
rules. Sports such as wrestling and boxing even though are violent, the players or the
competitors are psychologically prepared to encounter violence. Therefore, it may not have
greater impact on their psychology as opposed to those that are not psychologically prepared.
Some forms of violence such as biting a fellow player or kicking an opponent in a football match
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may attract sanctions and fines. A good example is the case where Suarez bit his fellow player
during a world cup match in Brazil. The payer received a sanction for a number of months.
Therefore, when violence goes overboard and fails to factor in the official rules of the game, it is
punishable.
In a sporting event, as a mechanism of restricting any violence from either the players or
spectators, it requires putting in place appropriate strategies. The players must be aware of the
consequences involved when they get involved in any acts of violence. They should be aware of
the heavy penalties, fines, bans and sanctions that they will face. There is also need to put
stringent laws that curtail any form of hooliganism from either the players or the fans. Laws
should take their course when certain individuals fail to respect the law in any games or sports.
In most instances, violence starts with verbal abuses of players, administrators, players,
officials, and spectators. This boils emotions that overflow into physical abuse. Fans must be
able to restrain from verbal insults and any one found preparing such immediate cause of actions
is required.
The way parents raise up their children as well contributes to violence experienced in the
field. Families, therefore, must raise their children in a good manner by instilling into them good
societal values. For instance, parents who engage in violent behaviors in front of their children
will definitely teach their children the same behaviors and such children may continue with the
behaviors even when in competitions.
In my opinion, violence in sports is something that can end if the concerned parties would
work together to implement various strategies. It is important to encourage promotions of fair
play by coaches, players, officials, administrators, and spectators. Sports need to entertain and
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provide fulfillment not to trigger emotions that lead to physical violence. Respect among players,
fans, referees, and other stakeholders is critical.
Stiff penalties should be provided to violence perpetrators as a deterrent. Any person
spotted promoting violent behaviors in a sports event should face dire consequences. Protocol
development to manage behavior associated with sport is important in fighting the violence
menace in sports. There should also be accreditation and training for officials, coaches and key
volunteers such as first aid personnel and administrators on management of games to avoid
incidences of violence.
Violence, even though has a long history, I believe that it is the responsibility for each
one of us to help overcome the menace. It is something created through our mental processes.
Learning how to control our mental processes and emotions is very important towards
eliminating violence. Players, officials, spectators and fans must understand that any sports
event aims to find a winner and loser. To be a winner, it depends with one’s determination,
tactics, and every team has a decision to choose whether they want to be a winner or a loser.
Therefore, people must be mature enough when competing as this will mark the end of violence
in sports.
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References
Guilbert, S. (2006). Violence in sports and among sportsmen: a single or two-track issue?,
Aggressive Behavior, 32(3): 231-240.
Coakley, J., Hallinan, C., & McDonald, B. (2011). Sports in Society: Issues and controversies,
Australia; McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from:
file:///C:/DOCUME~1/ADMINI~1/LOCALS~1/Temp/Coakley10e_ch07.pdf
Stafford, A., Alexander, K., & Fry, D. (2013). Playing through Pain: Children and Young
People’s Experiences of Physical Aggression and Violence in Sport. Child Abuse Review,
22(4): 287-299.
Teitel, E. (2014). Blame the man, not the nature of the sport. Maclean’s, 127(40): 13-13
