Violence in Sport

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Violence in Sport

• Mr. P. Leighton
• Contemporary Sporting Issues
• Socio-Cultural Studies.

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Todays Session

• Understand the issues surrounding violence in
  sport.
• Look at some examples of both player and
  spectator violence.
• Understand the problems and possible solutions to
  violence in sport.

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Aggression Vs. Assertion

• CONTROLLED AGGRESSION (Assertion) is a
  fundamental part of sport.
• However, when it spills over into an uncontrolled
  situation serious injury can occur.
• Violence on the streets Criminal Offence
• Violence in sport sometimes endorsed or
  partially penalised.

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Violence in Sport A History

• After 1850, however, sport became more associated
  with fair play and sportsmanship- why?
• Games were not taken to seriously in the schools,
  taking part was more important.
• Physicality Vs. Gentlemanly conduct?
• Sports were played to the letter of the law- the
  Victorians thrived upon the rigidity of rules and
  sport was no different.

• Sport and violence have always gone hand-in-hand
  historically- examples?
• Remember our work on surviving ethnic sports?
• Mob football is still characterised by violence
  and brutality today!

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Violence in Sport Today

• Times have changed!
• Amateurish attitudes have begun to be squeezed
  out of sport.
• Stakes are high- money is the main aim and stadia
  become like Cauldrons for performers.

• Gamesmanship is now commonplace!

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Some Key Terms

• Sportsmanship Fair play throughout sport.
• Gamesmanship Stretching the rules to gain an
  unfair advantage.
• Deviance (in sport) Seriously breaking the rules
  and norms (of sport)

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Violence by Participants

• This can be categorised and explained in the
  following terms

• Cheating A blatant infringement of the rules and
  codes and a disregard of the values of sport.

• Health Causes injury and physical damage, can be
  life threatening

• Legality Against the laws of the land and is
  more noticeable in sport through punishments.

• Role Modelling Elite sports performers have a
  responsibility to young people.

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The possible causes of violence by players
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Violence by Spectators
Peace, peace is what I seek and public calm
endless extinction of unhappy hates. Mathew
Arnold, 1985

• Aggressive acts and rebellious behaviour at
  sporting events is not new.
• Hooliganism exemplifies to perfection the
  difficulty of disentangling what is new from what
  is old in social history

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Spectator Violence A History

• The problem was around in pre-industrial days and
  throughout Victorian England.
• Hooligan, a fictitious Irish immigrant family at
  the time of immigration into the UK gave us the
  term Hooligans/Hooliganism.
• Hooliganism raised its head in the 1960s in
  connection with the violent behaviour of
  predominantly white, urban, unskilled males at
  football matches

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Case Study Heysel 1985

• 39 Spectators (31 Juventus fans) were crushed to
  death trying to escape a charge by Liverpool
  fans.
• 250 Others were injured.
• All in front of a worldwide TV audience.
• Italian PM Bettino Craxi said the UK was A
  country submerged in disgrace by the criminal
  actions of violent and irresponsible groups.
• Liverpool were banned from Europe for 5 years.

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Case Study Hillsborough 1989

• This had nothing to do with hooliganism, but a
  miscalculation and irresponsible policing and
  overcrowding.
• 95 people died after hundreds were channelled
  into an already overcrowded section of the
  stadium.
• Resultant reports led to more seating at games
  and less standing room.

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Key Words/Terms from today?