Sport Violence

Sports Violence

Grace College

Allison Franklin

Abstract

This research paper is over a topic that is very controversial in this day of age. Most people think it is a very simple topic, but it is extremely important. This paper will be written over the violence in sports. This is a very intriguing topic. It catches a lot of attention not only from fans, but media. It is a subject that catches the eye of sports spectators and the all like to watch the YouTube and EPSN highlights on Sunday mornings. This paper will discuss four cases of violence in sports. Hockey being the most common topic, and one of the most violent sports, not only will it cover the case, but describe exactly what happened. The other sports that also have issues are football, UFC, baseball, and also basketball. This paper was conducted by the use of several online sources.

Keywords: sport violence, cases, hockey

Sports Violence

If anyone in the United States watches sports, they see violence. It is the most common thing seen on TV in this century. It is truly amazing to see how violent sports were in the past, and see how things have slowly progressed. It is still bad in some cases, but to the extent of things it has gotten better. Everyone loves to see the highlights of sports on TV and the fights are the best part. They are shown on TV over and over again to make sure that the public eye has seen the most of it. Most of the time someone ends up either going to jail or is issued a fine that is expensive, but it happens on a daily basis. Violence is a subject that is common in today’s society and it something that will never go away. In sports, it catches the eye of the spectators, and will keep them coming back if they find it “cool.”

Dying in sports is more than likely overlooked because it does not happen very often. Unfortunately it does happen and did happen. In the past there were not as many rules and regulations in the game so things easily could get out of hand. In 1901, six American university football players were killed while playing the game they all loved. The press condemned deadly violence and demanded changes. The university presidents threatened to end all collegiate sports if the rules were not changed. In the year 1905, United States president, Theodore Roosevelt, who was a college athlete himself (boxer at Harvard University), stepped in to take charge. President Roosevelt demanded that collegiate officials had to change the rules for the safety and protection of the players. He then said that if the rules were not taken care of then college football would no longer be an asset for athletes. Officials were quick to make changes to the rules and regulations. By the next season things were different and the rules were changed to better protect the athletes.  (USLegal, 2010)

This research paper is not only describing what sports violence is, but letting everyone know how serious is it and how it is taken care of. Some may not take it as seriously as others, but it is truly a big deal when it is affecting other people’s lives. This paper will be describing four cases specifically and not only does it have to with violence but also the consequences the athletes are facing for their actions of stupidity. Hockey is the big sport when it comes to violence, why it is that way no one will ever really know. It is definitely one of the top most violent sports and it is the one the most cases are over. Three of the four cases that are going to be described are about hockey and different situation occurring. They are all very serious issues, and were taken care of by not only the NHL but legal officials.

The first case that is going to be described isn’t actually about hockey, its football. Between players from the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals, if anyone knows anything about these two teams they should know that they are very tough. Obviously so if there is a legal case with them in it!

In 1973, after a ball was intercepted and the players switched roles from offense to defense, things got a little out of hand. Dale Hackbart went to block Bengals, Charles Clark, when Clark laid a straight forearm to the back of Hackbart’s head and neck. It was later found in court that this happened intentionally with the act of anger and frustration. Referees never actually looked back on the play to see if there was a foul or not. Hackbart did not actually tell his coaches what happened at first. He was treated by the Bronco’s athletic trainer, to which then they found out he had a serious neck fracture.

“Although the blow by Clark was intentional, the trial court judge ruled as a matter of law that the game of professional football was/is violent in nature, and that the only available sanctions were penalties and game expulsion.  It was noted that fouls were often overlooked, that the game was/is played in an emotional and noisy environment and that such incidents as the one before the court were not unusual.” (4LawSchool, 2001)

The court also added that it would be unreasonable to apply the laws and rules to which the injury tort laws are a part of to the game of professional football because it would hold each player accountable for the safety of other players. It is stated that the concept of assumption of risk and contributory fact were also discussed, it was known that Hackbart should have recognized that and should have accepted the risk that he could be injured when he through his body in front of Charles Clark. (4LawSchool, 2001)