Gratuitous Violence in Sports

[dgs49]

I noted an article in the Sports section this morning about a professional hockey player who was knocked down from the rear in the course of a recent game, causing a concussion and a cracked vertebrum (also referred to as "a broken neck," which sounds more impressive). A lot of people are up in arms about it, and the civil authorities are threatening to make a criminal case out of it if the Powers That Be in Hockey don't do something severe to the perpetrator.

I recognize that I'm old and cynical and somewhat soft in the head, but I simply don't understand the phenomenon of gratuitous violence in sports. More specifically, I don't understand why it is tolerated by the bodies that govern the respective sports.

The case in point is hockey. Hockey can be a violent sport when two or more players are converging and trying to get at a puck, or to force a puck into the goal. Players collide and someone might get hurt. I have no problem with that, and certainly the players accept it as part of the game.

But hockey also tolerates players attacking other players from the rear ("blindside"), AWAY FROM THE PUCK, for no reason other than to impose pain or injury. Indeed, professional hockey acknowledges the need to have players on the squads whose specialty is just such attacks ("goons"). And hockey - unique in all sports - allows two opposing players to literally fight, uninterrupted by the officials, during the course of a game. THIS IS NUTS! Why is it tolerated? Because the fans want it? What if the fans wanted duels at 20 paces with firearms? Would they allow that?

Baseball pointedly accepts attempts to injure opposing players on the basepaths when, (1) a runner is sliding into second base, where a double play is a possibility, and (2) a runner is attempting to score a run and there is a play at the plate. Why? Does it enhance the enjoyment of the game for spectators? Hardly. It is totally gratuitous, adding nothing and potentially resulting in a serious injury to the defensive player making the play. It is bullshit and ought to be outlawed.

American football is a very violent sport, even under normal circumstances, and the rules officials have made some attempts to curtail gratuitous violence in some situations, particularly when it is directed at the quarterback. But there remain many situations in which a relatively helpless player (generally one who is attempting to catch a pass) is subject to blatant attempts to injure him in the course of preventing completion of the pass. It may be that no enforceable rule is possible to protect the pass-catchers.

It is noteworthy that many football "fans" loudly protest the recent rules to prevent intentionally injuring the quarterbacks, and they would be apoplectic if a rule were to be introduced to try to reduce injuries to pass-catchers. But of course football fans (and players) are supportive of violence to start with.

Even soccer is not immune from the trend of increasing gratuitous violence. Players are encouraged to "mix it up" with opponents in an attempt to intimidate them and discourage them in future "scrums" for the ball.

The pity of it is that these sports - most assuredly hockey - would be more enjoyable to watch without the gratuitous violence. But the officials that run the sport want, it would appear, to cater to the worst of their fans.

[Joe Guy]

"Baseball pointedly accepts attempts to injure opposing players on the basepaths when, (1) a runner is sliding into second base, where a double play is a possibility, and (2) a runner is attempting to score a run and there is a play at the plate."

"Baseball" does not accept attempts to injure opposing players on the base path.

But I agree with your assessment of other sports.

[Long Run]

This past year, the NFL expanded a rule that previously applied only to pass catchers, to protect all "defenseless" players. A defender may not initiate contact with their helmet against any offensive player in the neck or head. There were quite a few penalties assessed for this violation when a receiver was attempting a catch.

[Gob]