Resistance and Conflict in Sport

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss Sports Violence• Understand Sanctioned Aggressive Behavior • Understand Unsanctioned Aggressive

Behavior • Identify 3 levels of the sports violence

typology• Clarify the 3 levels of the sports violence

typology

• Discuss reasons women participate in violent sport.

• Define what is meant by the term “HOOLIGAN”

• Discuss the phenomenon of hooliganism in detail.

• Discuss spectator violence and reasons this happens at sporting events.

Discussion

• How do you feel when your team loses a game? • Would these feelings ever lead to violence?• Do you think sport is becoming more violent or

do we just see more of it due to increased media coverage?

• Do famous sport stars have a responsibility to behave well off the field- or does their private life have nothing to do with their sporting persona?

Do women who play violent sport lose femininity?

Introduction

• Ancient society-sport was rough • Sports became specialized-more spectators

than participators• Roman empire-Violence in sport accepted and

endorsed as norm by spectators• Presently-sport violence seen as soc prb and

extensive media coverage of violence in sport( is sport violence increasing or is media coverage of it increasing)

• Acc to Jon Hardcastle-growing dissatisfaction with sport violence despite constant media focus on it.

• Hardcastle-sports rules, equipment design and arenas have changed to reduce violence. Despite this spectators and officials see sport violence as to be expected.

• Justified by reasoning that it is part of the game, enjoyed by fans and ignored by coaches unless a played is cited for an incident

Sports Violence • Definition-behaviour that causes harm, occurs

outside the rules of sport, and is unrelated to competitive objectives of the sport (Terry and Jackson, 1985. cited in Kerr 2005).

• Leonard (1988) two (2) forms of aggression in sports: “instrumental aggression”, which is non-emotional and task oriented and “reactive aggression” that has an underlying emotional component, with harm as goal. Violence is outcome of reactive aggression.

Theories on violence in Sport

three basic theories :

• Biological Theory;

• Psychological Theory;

• Social Learning Theory

Biological Theory

The biological theory, proposed by Nobel Prize winner Konrad Lorenz, sees aggression as basic, inherent human characteristic. Within this context, sport is seen as a socially acceptable way to discharge built-up aggression, a safety valve.

Psychological Theory

• aggression caused by frustration; • situational• Frustration results when efforts to reach a

goal blocked.• frustration can be caused by questionable

calls by officials, failure to make a play, injuries that interfere with optimum performance, heckling from spectators, taunts by coaches, players, fans

Social Learning Theory

• aggressive behavior learned - modeling •reinforced by rewards and punishments Young athletes see sports heroes as role models and imitate them.• Parents, coaches and teammates are models who may demonstrate support for an aggressive style of playWhen players are violent and no consequence for their actions — or no consistency in punishment— message is “violence is fine, just don’t get caught”. Reinforcement rewards-praise, trophies, starting position, respect of friends and family. •Kerr (2005) seeing professional players huge salaries, in spite of (or because of) aggressive style of play reinforces violence acceptable in sport.

• Terry and Jackson (1985) cited in Kerr (2005), reinforcement for acts of violence may come from three sources including coaches, teammates, family, friends as well as the structure of the game and implementation of rules by officials and governing bodies. they suggest that it is also the attitudes of fans, the media, courts, and society that reinforce this.

Sanctioned Versus Unsanctioned Violence in Sport

• George Orwell (1950): “Serious sport nothing to do with fair play. Bound with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence; in other words it is war minus the shooting.”

• rugby, Brink (1995) : “Because it is so relentless by nature, borders between permissible and inadmissible not always clear-cut. ”He says there is clear distinction between hard play and foul play

• foul play -underhanded, malicious, treacherous violence, not supposed to be exposed, not done to further the game , but satisfy private goals of rage or revenge — “about the player, not team” (Brink, 1995).

• inadmissible and foul play - acts of unsanctioned violence falls outside laws of the game (Kerr, 2005).

• permissible and hard play - acts of sanctioned violence within laws of rugby union

• Kerr (2002) : “controversial as it may sound, it should be emphasized that sanctioned violence and aggression are necessary part of team contact sports, and those who take part know there are risks of physical injury ,sometimes even death.’

• Sports psychologists -sanctioned aggression and violence can be primary source of players excitement, pleasure, and satisfaction and a major factor in motivating participation (Kerr, 1997; Novak, 1976). This argument not made to excuse unsanctioned aggression and violence, but to understand the real nature of these sports and the people who play them

The Sports-Violence Typology

in certain sports, violence acceptable — even expected — sanctioned violence.

• sociologists such as Michael Smith developed sports-violence typology-:

• three categories of violence:• “brutal body contact” integral to some sports. Conforms to rules

of the sport , legitimate even when same behavior outside the sports context is criminal. Examples rugby ,gridiron football, boxing, wrestling, ice hockey, soccer and Asian martial arts.

• Participants in these sports accept rough contact is part of the sport. They have also consented to the probability of minor injury and possibility of major injury

• “borderline violence”,- violate official rules, but accepted by players and fans as legitimate part of game.

• EG. fistfight in ice hockey or an intentional foul in soccer, rarely subject to legal proceedings , dealt with by penalties. eg in 1997 Nevada Boxing Commission censured and banned heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson for biting his opponent.

• criminal violence-behavior extremely and intentionally violent handled legally , not considered part of game . Violence in sport, even sanctioned violence, handled carefully by media -not to convey admiration or condemnation . Sometimes, a journalist will clearly voice their opinion. “...the first time someone bleeds or is hit and you see the pain in their face. - - or when one person is hurt you see the surge in the other athlete trying to put him away, the killer instinct, the aggression that is bred out of us” Reporter Stephen Brunt.

Why Women Participate In Violent Sport

• camaraderie found in certain team sports,• the physical contact of the sport

• physical toughness of the sport.

• having to draw on inner strength and determination The views and opinions gathered by Lawler during research with female athletes varied

• some clearly participate in more violent sport because they enjoy mental and physical challenge of the sport, others

• it provides physical release to aggression • the game defines them.

• dominant sentiment-the physicality gave confidence- sense of empowerment (Lawler, 2002).

HOOLIGANISM• “unruly and destructive behavior”, usually associated with

gangs of young people. • appeared in 1898 London police report.• One theory - the name comes from an hoodlum from

London Patrick Hooligan • another -from a street gang in lslington named “Hooley”,• a third - “Hooley” an Irish word, meaning wild, spirited

party (Dunning et al, 1988). • recent understanding of the word linked to the behaviour

of football fans, particularly those from the UK.• Hooligans attached to other sports, such as rugby and

recently, cricket.

FOOTBALL HOOLIGANISM• behaviour known as “football hooliganism” originated in England in early 1950s.

• Italian fans created a fanatical brand of football support known as Ultra. Ultras are now a major force in the Italian game and are prevalent in a few European countries (Dunning et al, 1988).

• Football hooliganism recognized as serious prob by governmnt and media in 1960s.

• Hooligans, known as “roughs”, caused trouble at matches in professional game’s early years at the end of the nineteenth century.

• mid-1 960s grps of young men, from local working class housing estates and suburbs, gathered at games.

• in absence of visiting fans, home staked out the goal-end terraces of football grounds as their “territory”,excluded older spectators and rival fans .

• these “youth ends” and their role in defending local masculine reputations and territories helped to produce national network of “gang” rivalries in football.

• their own performance in overcoming or intimidating rival “firms” more important than the performance of the players.

• By late 1 980s rival groups sometimes tried to meet outside, before or , after matches.

• By 1992, almost 5000 arrests were being made at all League Football matches, an average of 2.4 per match.

Who Are Hooligans and Why Do They Do It?

• Much behaviour described as “hooliganism” actually ritualistic and non-violent (Marsh et al, 1978).

• involves verbally abusing rival fans, threatening them with attack, and horseplay aimed at “having a laugh”.

• Core hooligans-more interested in fighting or “running” rival groups who are, in their eyes, like themselves and are also “looking for trouble”.

• Debates about deeper causes of hooliganism divides researchers and academics .

• In England ,early work of psychologist Peter Marsh colleagues (1978) at Oxford focused on non-violent and ritualistic “aggro” at football games which only led to “real” violence a result of inappropriate police intervention

• Marsh colleagues believed it was the ritual that hooligan fans had in their sights.

• Sociologists, had different views:• Sociologists at Leicester University felt that Marsh and

colleagues understated amount of “real” violence occurring at matches.

• They argued that in “rough” neighbourhoods young males are socialised (at home, at work, in peer group gangs etc.) into standards that value and reward publicly assertive ,openly aggressive and violent expressions of masculinity.

• Young men expected to be able to “look after themselves”.• Fights anticipated and enjoyed, because of the challenges they

offer and because of how good they make the protagonists look.

• Anthony King (2001)emphasised role of collective memory in shaping hooligan incidents.

• the future of hooligan gangs and the type of violence they take part in determined by the collective “group think” - their common values

and shared memories

Spectator Violence at Sporting Events

• Spectator violence any violent activity that occurs among those attending a sporting event.

• can be directed at players, officials ,fellow spectators.• Types of spectator violence include verbal abuse, the throwing

of missiles (such as bottles), property destruction and physical assaults (Madensen and Eck, 2008).

• Spectator violence not restricted to UK and America although much of research on the topic comes from these countries.

• increasing incidents of spectator violence in Australia and South Africa motivated researchers in these countries to look more closely at this phenomenon.

Reasons for spectator Violence• In book, Sport in American culture: from All to X-

games, Duncan (2004) :• “social scientists attribute fan violence to social,

cultural and environmental factors surrounding the sporting event ’.

• He says (3) factors generally impact on the occurrence of fan violence:

• the action in the sport event itself,• Secondly-situational crowd dynamics• thirdly, the historical, social and political context in

which the contest played (Duncan, 2004).

• Mitrano (2000) cited in Duncan (2004) adds that these factors include “crowd size and density; crowd noise levels; standing or seating patterns; crowd composition - age, gender, race and social class; amount of alcohol consumed by crowd; location of event; system of crowd control used at the event; the history of the relationship between the teams involved and their supporters;

• the importance of victory to opposing spectator supporters and any perceived injustice in officiating”.

• Mass media also contributes to acceptability of sports violence.

• Bernstein and Blain (2003)-the media plays two (almost contradictory) roles in coverage of sports violence.

• On the one hand it gives extensive exposure to sports-related violence via television, magazines, newspapers, and radio. This exposure then provides numerous examples to children wanting to imitate such behaviour. It glamorises players. Media commentary often uses descriptions suggesting sport is form of combat and violent action is something exciting. On the other handexposure given to sports violence by media has also stimulated increased efforts to control and prevent it. Bernstein and Blain, 2003)

Suggestions for Reducing the Potential for Violence

• Studies by Madensen and Eck (2008) and Russell (2008) developed key measures to reduce potential for violence at an event. These include: • Promoting Events As “Family Friendly” Events where promotion aimed at specifically attracting large numbers of young males lend themselves to become settings for spectator violence (Russell 2008). Such “high energy” events often use aggressive “war and enemy” imagery to promote a great battle between teams. To minimise the risk of violence marketing events as ‘family friendly” increase likelihood of attracting calmer, more diverse crowd less likely to engage in violent or threatening behaviour (Madensen and Eck, 2008).

• Professional sports people should be mindful of their conduct as role models for young fans.

• Shaking hands at match end, being conscious of their responses to questionable refereeing decisions are gestures of sportsmanship that are important in encouraging positive conduct in younger spectators (Russell 2008).

• Provide Adequate Seating Ensuring spectators have access to sufficient seating can minimise the risk of crowding and consequent scuffles between spectators (Russell 2008).

• Reducing Alcohol Availability Events where full-strength alcohol is easily accessible, and inexpensive, more likely to experience spectator violence. Providing adequate signage of policies on liquor consumption and codes of conduct, serving low-strength alcohol and ensuring policies are enforced can reduce this risk (Madensen and Eck 2008).

• Behavior and Competency of Officials and Players Police and security staff must ensure patron safety without over-policing, which can frustrate spectators leading to acts of aggression (Russell 2008).

• Banning Unruly Spectators Professional clubs have taken measures to ban spectators from future matches and from sporting grounds due to violent behaviours (ABC News 2009). This approach reinforces to the community that violent behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.