Topic > Violence in Sports Throughout History

There is an incredible amount of cultural similarities between ancient history and today. In some ways, we have really progressed as a society and in other ways we still maintain some of those ancient values. One of the ways we have maintained the same ideals is through sports, more specifically violence in sports. It is evident that violence has been a dominant aspect of sports and games throughout history. In this article I will talk about how violence in sports has not changed throughout history and how violence in sports is relevant today. In the first section, the 1976 game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be described and discussed. In the second section we will talk about Hunting and the human nature that influences men to be aggressive. The third section will talk about Homer's epic poems and how they relate to the violent nature of men. The fourth section will talk about the game of Soule played during the modern Renaissance and will touch on the games of the Roman gladiators. The fifth section will talk about the meaning of all the things we talk about in the 21st century. The male tendency to have an aggressive and dominant tendency has been clearly demonstrated throughout history and continues to be displayed on fields, skating rinks and in many other sporting spaces. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Hockey has maintained a reputation for having a violent nature; Many injuries can result from playing a high-contact sport. Not only are players exposed to typical injuries such as broken bones or sprained ankles, but occasionally players are exposed to other potential dangers such as fisticuffs. Thus the chosen nineteenth-century event occurred. In the hockey game, between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, three Philadelphia players were accused of assaulting Toronto Maple Leaf fans. There have been many incidents in hockey that have attracted publicity, but this incident was one of the largest that was given the title "Week of Disgrace." During this particular game, Philadelphia lost 5–4 after winning the first two games of the series. It was an incredibly tough and physical match, the match length was almost an hour and a half longer than average, taking 3 and a half hours to complete. The amount of aggression and dominance displayed on the ice was just the beginning of what was to come. According to NHL rules, Rule 47 -fighting- states that any player believed to have started the fighting will receive a minor penalty, a major penalty and 10 minutes of misconduct. Before each penalty is applied, a short time passes allowing the referees to determine the penalty and the player to enter the penalty area. All those minutes would add up to create a three-and-a-half-hour match. This particular game had 163 penalty minutes in total, while the average hockey game hovers around 15-20 penalty minutes. The New York Times goes on to talk about one of the incidents that occurred in that match: a police officer was attacked with a hockey stick behind the penalty area. Some of the charges laid that night were: assault causing bodily harm, common assault and a dangerous weapon charge. Historically, men have had to act violently to defend their land and protect and provide for their families. “It is not uncommon to hear adolescent males openly admire their elders and ancestors for their perceived autonomy, strength, and ability to kill.” Hunting, through generations, is a sign of superiority, masculinity, strength andmuch more. This idea of ​​violence is shown through many different aspects in Durani Bai culture, not just in more Western civilizations. Violence is shown throughout the story. High goes on to talk about how men and women would tell stories of abuse from their fathers and grandfathers by receiving whippings, older men had the idea that whipping their children and raising them in this way would show them how to be strong. It is further described in the article that children being physically abused by elders is a way of imparting knowledge to them, showing them what it is like to be an adult. This demonstrates how physical aggression has been used throughout history to show dominance, teach lessons, provide life for families through hunting, chasing, and so much more. Aggression has been ingrained in humans for so long and is now carried out in other, more acceptable ways in today's society. Violence manifests itself in the story not only by hunting and teaching children the knowledge of adulthood; it has been demonstrated through many sporting events in history. Throughout history, there are examples of how the sport has changed and evolved and also how it has stayed the same. One of the main ways that sports stays true to its roots is through the violence and aggression displayed in sports games. Violence in history dates back to the times of Homer's epic, where "most of the more serious injuries that occurred during Homer's epic were caused by participation in warfare-type activities." Men, at that time, had to take part in ongoing battles and use the weapons at their disposal, which resulted in many injuries. As the story progressed, the idea of ​​violence in life did not disappear. The Romans adopted brutality in sport from the Etruscans. The Etruscans made violence normal in sport, they were thirsty for blood and everything for them was a "fight to the death". In Nigel Crowther's article “Sporting Violence in the Roman and Byzantine Empires” it is clear that violence was everywhere. A revolt occurred in Pompeii that was not part of the normal gladiator shows, but broke out because groups of men fought to demonstrate their physical education/skill and military prowess. Men teasing each other caused this riot, this is often seen in sporting events today among both fans and athletes in sports. Crowther goes on to talk about how some spectators of the Pompeii riot prepared themselves with weapons such as knives, in case fights broke out. The idea of ​​taunting and using words to make people angry is seen in the NHL game between Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs. In all these cultures, men are the ones who play sports and fight in wars. HA Harris writes in the book Sport of Greece and Rome, that in the 2nd century AD, boys played throwing balls at each other. with the intent of hitting the other person with the ball, the boy who gets hit loses the game. This very simplistic game demonstrates the idea that using force to hit each other makes someone a winner. Men have proven that through the physical force of the blow someone will come out on top, hockey demonstrates this very clearly. Very often fights break out on the ice because one of the players tries to hit to win, to gain dominance. During the Middle Ages, peasants of the time played the game of Soule, as described in the article The Game of Soule from Bentley's Miscellany in the Periodical Archives. It is said that it was not just any sport, but a "terrible party". The days of playing soule were considered the days of righting wrongs and putting an end to grievances. Themen who played sought revenge: “Et che est celui qui n'as pas quellqu'un à tuer”. This has the meaning of “and what is someone who doesn't have someone to kill”. Soule was played to release the accumulated male aggression. The article goes on to talk about how, after the ball is thrown, chaos ensues. There are people who run to catch the ball and others who get up from the ground covered in blood after failing to prove themselves strong against other competitors. The trampling of men playing is not uncommon in the game of Soule. In the end, this game isn't loseable, it's a bloody and gruesome game. Gladiator games are another gruesome activity that showcases violence in sports. One of the bloodiest activities took place in ancient Rome, in 27 AD, resulting in approximately "20,000 victims and 50,000 maimed or crushed to death". This article describes that Roman glasses were created as an “outlet for aggression.” Men build up anger and frustration over time, and gladiatorial games are a way to release pent-up emotions. Violent sport thrived because spectators were thrilled when an athlete won the match even after being “strangled by his opponent.” The emperors of the time refused to accept spectators' demands regarding the games, which is what Crowther believed was why the games became increasingly aggressive during that period of Roman history. There is a lot of meaning in the sports culture of 2019 as it relates to violence in sports. The amount of knowledge available today on how to rehabilitate injuries and the stages an injury goes through before being healed. Cressman wrote in The Evaluation of the use of Healing Imagery in Athletic Injury Rehabilitation about the three phases injuries go through. The first stage is the inflammatory stage, this stage occurs 0-6 days after the injury occurs, how long could it last and that is it will start to disappear as the damaged cells are removed by the white blood cells. The second phase is described as the proliferative phase. It occurs about 3 days after the injury and can last up to a couple of weeks. It ends when the fibers of the muscle or tendon, etc. they straighten up and return to their normal position. The final phase is called the remodeling phase, in this phase the collagen fibers that were repaired in the second phase work to become stronger and healthier, this may take a year or more to be completely complete. As we talk about specific rehabilitation methods, the idea that there is a lot of new scientific evidence about how to properly rehabilitate athletes continues to evolve. As the science behind sports injuries grows, so does awareness. As Crowther had said, injuries in Roman times often led to death due to the violent nature of sport and the weapons used during sporting events. M. Cusimano et al. wrote after an experiment involving boys and adolescents in hockey, that "interventions must appeal to young players' sense of competitiveness, while simultaneously developing their respect for and awareness of injuries." Continuing, that article talks about how greater knowledge is needed regarding the athlete's “notion of masculinity,” which leads to violence in the game. To decrease aggression in sports, in hockey but in all sports, players and spectators must understand that there are consequences for those violent actions. Cusimano et al., continue to write about how there is a need for “non-violent role models” for these young players to look up to. Seeing idols fight only makes young players believe that this is how the game is played. I believe if in sports communities.