Should violence in sports be a crime?

[Big_Bend]

A football team that was paying out bounties for players who injured opponents....

World Peace in the NBA purposely gives an opponent a concussion, has a huge history of injuring people.... Kermit Washington very nearly killed my home town hero Rudy Tomjanovich.

NASCAR drivers that push an opponent into a wall and cause intentional wrecks...

Hockey player goons that get in fights all the time...

Baseball pitchers that purposely throw at batters.... Batters that charge the mound and attack pitchers.




Personally I'm sick of it all. I used to be a HUGE sports fan and now I don't care for any sport. I think that people who purposely endanger and injure other people should be locked up in jail. IMO there is just NO excuse for violence when trying to win a sporting event. If an event cannot exist without its players purposely trying to injure opponents (except for real fighting sports of course), then the sport should be banned.


I'm guessing some people might feel differently. What's your take?

[Brad Pittiful]

how about

boxing

kick boxing

mma fighting

[emu!]

I still can't believe cage wrestling is allowed to be called a sport.

[Jakedog]

I'm still waiting for a full-contact PGA event.

[Brother Rob]

Yeah, I get it. You don't like violence in sports. You ranted about that in the Hockey Goons thread a couple of weeks ago. My reply remains the same.

Originally Posted by Brother Rob

It is guys like you that are ruining the game.

No sarcasm intended.

[DrumBob]

Originally Posted by Brother Rob

Yeah, I get it. You don't like violence in sports. You ranted about that in the Hockey Goons thread a couple of weeks ago. My reply remains the same.

So, you think violence in sports is OK? Is that what you're saying? Not being judgmental. I just want to be clear on what you meant.

[Brother Rob]

Originally Posted by DrumBob

So, you think violence in sports is OK? Is that what you're saying? Not being judgmental. I just want to be clear on what you meant.

No. Sometimes (like hockey) it is part of the game. But "World Peace" should have been given a year off. Guys are going to fight some times. Most of the time it is unacceptable, but not that huge of a deal. I just feel that the OP is being a little histrionic to call for a ban of an entire sport because a couple of guys throw down.

[Oakville Dave]

How about if the perpetrator is removed from the sport for the same amount of time that it takes the victim to recover. If the injured player never returns to the game then neither does the perpetrator! Problem solved!!

[ifallalot]

Its part of the game. The fighting has always been there and people are predetermined to believe that everything is always getting worse in the world.

I'm all for more fighting in sports. And real fighting, none of that fake soccer flopping crap

[E5RSY]

Originally Posted by Brother Rob

No. Sometimes (like hockey) it is part of the game.

I'd argue, instead, that it's part of the show, not the game.

[ifallalot]

Originally Posted by E5RSY

I'd argue, instead, that it's part of the show, not the game.

True, but what are pro sports if they are not a show?

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by DrumBob

So, you think violence in sports is OK? Is that what you're saying? Not being judgmental. I just want to be clear on what you meant.

Contact with another person in any event could be called violence.

You are being judgmental.

I gave Brother Rob a real hard time in another thread, but it so happens he's correct on this one.

+

I've personally given up watching hockey, because I'm just not enjoying it, but it occurs to me that maybe I, the viewer, am what is wrong, and I'm content to just let it go on the way it is and not try and replace the existing sport with something intended for small children.

People keep wanting to screw around with sports and change them into a diaper changing contest. I think you can suck all the life out of the activity and you never understand what you just did to destroy it.

[sax4blues]

Not all workplace violence is charged as a crime. Not all bar fights are charged as a crime.

All sports, even ping pong, involve a chance of injury. Try being on the receiving end of an olympic table tennis serve and tell me you're not scared of getting hit. Sport is the act of performing under physical duress and controlling your fear. And the highest level of sports involve the fear of extreme injury.

Everybody can catch a football tossed to them mid field. But only a few can do it with the threat of getting knocked out. Now people want to take the linebacker to court if he's a bully?

Motor sports is all about dare devil type intimidation. I will stay on the gas longer than you to the point we may both crash. Now people want to give a speeding ticket, or failure to yield ticket?

Do you know why it's hard to hit a baseball? It's friggin scary stepping into a hard ball pitch. That's sports. Will I be able to control my fear, calm my nerves, clear my concentration, as imminent danger is swirling around me?

Sports without fear is call chess. I like chess.

[DrumBob]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

Contact with another person in any event could be called violence.

You are being judgmental.

I gave Brother Rob a real hard time in another thread, but it so happens he's correct on this one.

+

I've personally given up watching hockey, because I'm just not enjoying it, but it occurs to me that maybe I, the viewer, is what is wrong, and I'm content to just let it go on the way it is and not try and replace the existing sport with something intended for small children.

No, I wasn't, and you're being presumptive to think I was. I do think that good sportsmanship seems to be a thing of the past. I never remember seeing so many fights when I was a kid watching sports on TV. It seems to have escalated in the last ten years or so.

[fuzzbender]

you cannot be serious

[Toto'sDad]

Contact while a play is being made is one thing, what "world peace" did is another. That isn't sport, that's just an idiot with an over sized body bullying other people. Should be put out of the game and anyone like him should get the same treatment. Not a bad idea letting the guy who was fouled decide the punishment. Certainly perk up audience interest.

[fuzzbender]

bring back duelling

[Big_Bend]

Originally Posted by sax4blues

All sports, even ping pong, involve a chance of injury.

Yes, many sports have huge physical confrontations.... Injuries happen as part of the game. I'm not talking about this.


I'm talking about when one opponent INTENTIONALLY tries to injure another opponent so they will be unable to compete. I think this is totally immoral and illegal. When in doubt, I saw give the benefit to the players, no crime was committed. But when one player slugs another player in the head, hits them with a stick, stomps them into the ground, etc.... its time for the police to get involved, just like in real life when one person attacks another.


Aww screw it. Lets say we just bring back gladiator fights to the death. You know the TV ratings would be huge, which makes it all ok of course.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by DrumBob

No, I wasn't, and you're being presumptive to think I was. I do think that good sportsmanship seems to be a thing of the past. I never remember seeing so many fights when I was a kid watching sports on TV. It seems to have escalated in the last ten years or so.

This forum is about opinions.

I see something that is judgmental, and I see a guy trying to say he's not judgmental - I just call it as I see it. I don't know what things you were watching on TV; I think your personal tolerance for sports/fighting has just changed. You cannot stand it any more, and frankly there's nothing wrong with feeling that way. Sports are organized aggression, and sometimes that's not what the doctor ordered.

But I think you had your pulse on our society better when you were a kid.
Forgive me if that's presumptuous as well. That's a pretty standard rejoinder. Guy disagrees with you - call him presumptuous. At least you didn't say I was being condescending - that's the other one I'm just puzzled by. How instead can we bribe you into making your argument with enough force to make it work?

[sax4blues]

Originally Posted by Big_Bend

But when one player slugs another player in the head, hits them with a stick, stomps them into the ground, etc.... its time for the police to get involved, just like in real life when one person attacks another.

In real life the police do not always, or even often, get involved. I have seen a couple fights through the years, and the only police involvement I've seen is to break it up and calm everyone down. I've seen a couple office altercations, and just like sports fights, everybody was sent to their bench and some people got suspended. I have not seen an arrest or charges brought.

My guess is if someone wanted to press criminal charges for a sports fight they could, but apparently the players who are subject to this don't want to press charges, just like all the other fights I've seen in the real world.