Violence Becoming Commonplace in Sports
Bobby Rice
Issue date: 9/20/06 Section: Opinions
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An estimated one billion people witnessed one of the most bizarre and violent acts in popular sports this past summer. In the second half of the World Cup finals, Zinedene Zidane, of France, forcefully head butted Italy's Marco Materazzi in the chest. Although this was not the first time sport fans have been astounded by a professional athlete's behavior, this was by far one of the most shocking. Violent outbursts in professional sports have become much more common in the last decade.
To watch two rival teams or athletes loose their control during a match or game is rather exciting. To see a batter get drilled by a pitch and then charge the mound, clearing out both benches and bullpens is sometimes more appealing than watching Barry Bonds hit another homerun. With 162 major league baseball games a year, it is no big deal for a player to be pulled from one game, but for Zinedane Zidane to be yanked from the final fifteen minutes of the world championship match is inexcusable and baffling. With the game on the line, and a whole country counting on Zidane, nothing could explain his attack on Materazzi.
Recently there has been much debate over the frequency of violence in sports. Much of the media and many sociologists have affiliated violence in video games and the news to violence in sports. We hold athletes and superstars in this country to higher expectations than ourselves in expecting them not to be affected by such pressures. It seems as if an athlete violently attacks another person, they are scrutinized because of their "role" in our society. The truth is we should not be so surprised when athletes head butt an opponent or jump into the stands and beat up a heckler during a basketball game.
To criticize an athlete's actions in the intense moments of a game, one must consider one's own reaction in the same predicament. These athletes are human, and we cannot condemn sports for becoming completely violent because of a few irresponsible outbursts. Our culture is becoming increasingly conservative towards sports, largely because of the media's overblown portrayal of violent athletes. Every year there are always a few sporadic incidents of individuals attacking others. However, until entire sport teams start going out every day with violent intent, there should be no concern with the intensity of our athletes.
Many believe there should be rules and regulations in place to deter acts like Zidane's head butt. More regulations and rules will only disconnect fans and athletes from the essence of sports. Any human in competition with another will occasionally be unable to control intense concentration. Violence in sports should be expected, especially in our society, we cannot change that, we can only be ready to enjoy the entertainment sports gives us, and accept one person's faults.
To watch two rival teams or athletes loose their control during a match or game is rather exciting. To see a batter get drilled by a pitch and then charge the mound, clearing out both benches and bullpens is sometimes more appealing than watching Barry Bonds hit another homerun. With 162 major league baseball games a year, it is no big deal for a player to be pulled from one game, but for Zinedane Zidane to be yanked from the final fifteen minutes of the world championship match is inexcusable and baffling. With the game on the line, and a whole country counting on Zidane, nothing could explain his attack on Materazzi.
Recently there has been much debate over the frequency of violence in sports. Much of the media and many sociologists have affiliated violence in video games and the news to violence in sports. We hold athletes and superstars in this country to higher expectations than ourselves in expecting them not to be affected by such pressures. It seems as if an athlete violently attacks another person, they are scrutinized because of their "role" in our society. The truth is we should not be so surprised when athletes head butt an opponent or jump into the stands and beat up a heckler during a basketball game.
To criticize an athlete's actions in the intense moments of a game, one must consider one's own reaction in the same predicament. These athletes are human, and we cannot condemn sports for becoming completely violent because of a few irresponsible outbursts. Our culture is becoming increasingly conservative towards sports, largely because of the media's overblown portrayal of violent athletes. Every year there are always a few sporadic incidents of individuals attacking others. However, until entire sport teams start going out every day with violent intent, there should be no concern with the intensity of our athletes.
Many believe there should be rules and regulations in place to deter acts like Zidane's head butt. More regulations and rules will only disconnect fans and athletes from the essence of sports. Any human in competition with another will occasionally be unable to control intense concentration. Violence in sports should be expected, especially in our society, we cannot change that, we can only be ready to enjoy the entertainment sports gives us, and accept one person's faults.