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3 J. Legal Aspects Sport 88 (1993)
Violence in Sport: Criminal Assault or Part of the Game

handle is hein.journals/jlas3 and id is 166 raw text is: Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, 3(2). 1993, 88-96 Violence In Sport: Criminal Assault or Part of the Game? Robert E. Trichka Central Connecticut State University New Britian, Connecticut N INTRODUCTION The values approved by society often seem to be in conflict with the values held by athletes. The inconsistency of attitudes of many athletes toward sportsmanship, aggression, and violence would not be looked upon with favor by a society which expects high standards of ethical and moral behavior. Sport is considered to be a microcosm of the society in which it exists and has been endorsed and maintained for its many values, yet it has not escaped the impact of aggression and violence. Michener (1976) suggested that there is undue emphasis on violence throughout sport programs. Edwards and Rackages (1977) stated, American sport is... structurally and idealogically conducive to the generation of violence (p.3). Eitzen (1979) suggested that the most popular sports actually encourage player aggression and excessive violence. In essence, no part of society, especially sport, is immune to aggression and acts of violence and as Fisher (1973) stated, . . . few social institutions openly condone and cater to aggressive behavior as does sport (p. 249). By definition, sport is a contention of interests; it is direct competition against another (Slusher, 1967; Vanderzwaag & Sheehan, 1978). One accepted index of competition is individual physical aggressiveness. Athletes are expected to test the aggressive boundaries of behavior and are often encouraged and taught to do so. At times, these boundaries are disregarded, and the result is unacceptable levels of violence. Eitzen and Sage (1978) stated that .... violence is a derivative of competition. It is the ultimate way to ensure the survival of the fittest (p. 69). Woods (1971) stated: Sport and athletics are used by some individuals to disguise and hide destructive and hostile intent. Under the guise of the athletic competition, the individual is freed from the anxiety, guilt, and control which must normally be maintained in other life circumstances (p. 56). Aggression and violence in sport have been studied for many years and the orientation of the people studying sport leads them to assume that human aggression has a specific source and therefore relates to sport in a particular way. However, the problem of aggression and violence in sport is more complex to be causally related

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