Violence in sports, fan-based or between players, is a growing concern in this fundamental component of Western culture. The U.S. is no exception, and extensive research is dedicated to exploring how and why these behaviors occur. As the following will illustrate, and as my personal biases and viewpoints are presented, it is held that sports violence of any kind is not by any means a sports issue, but rather an extension of social and cultural beliefs promoting it, and that the only means of addressing the violence is through efforts to alter existing ideas within the society of what is acceptable and what genuinely defines strength and character.
Review and Biases
Before delving into various viewpoints regarding sports bias, I am obligated to express what I believe to be my own. While I discount none of the many benefits of sports for teams, fans, and the culture, my bias relates to a sense of an undue degree of aggression as falsely promoted as confidence or strength. I comprehend the work and skill required to play any sport well, but there is an immense emphasis on winning as the only crucial element. This in turn generates sports atmospheres wherein heightened aggression is the norm, and a norm embraced by fans. A trajectory is established; sports is a massive industry, profits rely on generating public involvement, and that involvement is more motivated by expectations of viewing violent confrontations. All of this reflects the cultural ideology reinforcing hyper-aggression as strength.
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Other viewpoints and arguments, as a whole, do not contradict my own belief. For example, some sociologists insist that increased violence from fans and players alike is inevitable, given the American tendency to grow jaded and demand more from whatever entertains it. Others see this as an excessive viewpoint, but still observe that sports violence is more prevalent than ever before (Dunning, 2013, p. 39). Neither view opposes the idea that some fundamental aspect of the culture insists on glamorizing violent behavior. Further thinking relates that differences in social and territorial realities play into how fan violence alone is generated. In Europe and, more specifically, the United Kingdom, fan violence has a religious component to it, whereas in the U.S. the violence is geographically influenced (Ward, 2002, p. 458). Again, there is substantial rationale for how ingrained norms encourage excess aggression, as in Southern and Northern sports competitions expressing oppositional regional pride.
Interestingly, studies support that fan violence differs from player violence because it is to an extent orchestrated. Well before an event, for example, it is ordinary for fans to gather and plan strategies of extreme expression (Ward, 2002, p. 460), which reinforces the social impact factor. In a sense, this is then an opposing viewpoint, in that it presents sports violence as beyond owner and managerial control. At the same time, it is invalid, and because there is no justification for enabling violence to “please” fans. Then, a violence issue exists in terms of race, and one exacerbated by the recent “kneeling” controversies wherein black athletes have been alternately condemned or praised for making the physical statement against beliefs in white police oppression. Beginning in high school sports, there is a segregation factor which remains in place from such amateur levels to the professional. Generally, blacks are regarded as prized athletes but are denied opportunities beyond the playing fields (Dunning, 2013, p. 211). The commonality in all of the above strongly indicates that ideologies apart from sport itself dictate how it is played, and motivate the noted, and unauthentically strong, violent behaviors from players and fans alike.
Solutions Approach and Conceptual Framework
Biases and research perspectives notwithstanding, violence in sports remains a significant issue, and one addressed in a consistently ambiguous way. It is usual that, when violent outbreaks occur in sporting events, they are assessed in a legal “gray” area; they are dealt with by the relevant sports officials rather than the justice system, which in itself promotes the acceptance of the violence (Matthews, Channon, 2017, p. 758). This being the reality, change may only be generated from the highest levels of sport management, and of school and professional teams alike. Essentially, the guiding ideologies put forth by recruiters and managers must defy the universal and false thinking that hyper-aggression is synonymous with talent or strength. This would, of course, be a gradual process at best, but it is necessary because sports violence is, again, no isolated phenomenon. It exists because, on varying levels, the industry and the public support violence. Any issue so socially embedded is then addressed only over time, yet no viable alternative is present. This then pertains to a conceptual framework I myself would seek to uphold and disseminate. In any managerial capacity, I would focus on endorsing the reality that true sportsmanship is undermined by violent behavior, and would lead to disciplinary measures as required. Such a framework would certainly meet with resistance, but no other approach may alter the fundamental norms so supportive of violence.
Conclusion
If the above demonstrates anything, it is that sports violence in all its forms is a product of a culture, or cultures, lessening the import of authentic sportsmanship in favor of preferences for exaggerated and unduly aggressive conduct. Ingrained social norms do not change easily, but they can change over time. Ultimately, fan and player violence in sports is an extension of the social systems and cultural beliefs encouraging it, and the only rational means of addressing the violence is through efforts to confront and change existing ideas within the society of what is acceptable, and what truly defines strength and character.
- Dunning, E. (2013). Sport Matters: Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence and Civilization.
New York, NY: Routledge. - Matthews, C. R., & Channon, A. (2017). Understanding sports violence: revisiting foundational
explorations. Sport in Society, 20(7), 751-767. - Ward Jr, R. E. (2002). Fan violence: Social problem or moral panic?. Aggression and Violent
Behavior, 7(5), 453-475.
