Sport Books Publisher
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 Modern sport is a reflection of our society
– e.g., winning at all costs
 Sociology is the study of the functioning of human society in various environments (e.g., workplace, church, school)
 Sport sociology is the study of the functioning of society within the modern sport environment
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 Specifically, we will discuss:
– Aggression and Violence in
Sport
– Cheating in Sport
– Gender and Sport
– Race and Ethnicity in Sport
– Racism in Sport
– Other Victims of Discrimination
– Future Sporting Trends
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 Violence in sports parallels the reality of violence in society as a whole
– We see examples of societal violence watching the evening news
– Sports news isn’t much better
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 Hockey
– 2000: Marty McSorley knocks out Donald
Brashear by slashing him in the head with his stick
 Basketball
– 1995: Vernon Maxwell hits an abusive fan in the stands
 Baseball
– Roger Clemens throws the jagged piece of a broken bat at Mike Piazza
 Examples can be found in almost every sport
 Can you think of any other examples?
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Violence = extreme aggression
There are three distinct components of aggressive behaviour:
1. Hostile Aggression
2. Instrumental Aggression
3. Assertive Behaviour
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Hostile Aggression Instrumental
Aggression
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
Instrumental
Aggression
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to achieve some external award
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
 Anger is usually involved
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to achieve some external award
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
 Anger is usually involved
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to achieve some external award
 No anger is involved
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
 Anger is usually involved
 Performed outside the rules of the game
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to achieve some external award
 No anger is involved
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
 Anger is usually involved
 Performed outside the rules of the game
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to achieve some external reward
 No anger is involved
 Performed within the rules of the game
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
 Anger is usually involved
 Performed outside the rules of the game
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to achieve some external award
 No anger is involved
 Performed within the rules of the game e.g., fist-fighting in hockey
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Hostile Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to cause suffering
 Anger is usually involved
 Performed outside the rules of the game
Instrumental
Aggression
 The intent is to cause harm
 The goal is to achieve some external award
 No anger is involved
 Performed within the rules of the game e.g., fist-fighting in hockey e.g., aggressive checking meant to hurt the opponent
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 Often confused with aggression
 Increased effort and energy expenditure
 No intent to harm
 No anger involved
 May result in harm, but any resultant harm is incidental to the game
 e.g., Assertive checking meant to slow down the opponent
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 The following causes most likely interact to cause aggressive behaviour
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Through comments, e.g., “Bob can really take care of himself.”
By demonstrating interest in televised sporting event fights
Recommendations:
1. Good role models need to convey a negative reaction to aggression
2. Other?
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 More aggression occurs after losing contest
– Frustration
 Lower league standing teams demonstrate more aggression
– Frustration and a little to lose
 Recommendations:
1. Refocus the teams efforts into more productive channels, e.g., a new game plan
2. Others?
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The larger the point spread, the more aggression occurs
– Nothing to lose because game is perceived to be out of reach
Recommendations
1. Refocus attention, e.g., try out a new play
2. Others?
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Sports with a lot of physical contact result in more aggression
– If player believes that the opponent is trying to hurt him/her there is an increased likelihood that aggression will occur
Recommendations:
1. Encouraging athletes to increase effort vs. aggressive acts
2. Victory (vs. harm) = the ultimate way to get back at an opponent
3. Others?
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More aggression occurs when a team plays away from home
– Linked to fan reaction, i.e., unfriendly crowd is likely to anger the visiting team
Recommendations:
1.
Players must learn to “tune out” this fan reaction and focus on the game
2. Others?
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Cheating = behaviour aimed at getting around the rules or simply breaking them
Why do athletes engage in cheating?
1. The win-at-all-costs mentality
2. Cheating results from the sport ethic
Ben Johnson’s world record in the 100-metre dash in the
1988 Summer Olympics before he was stripped of his win for using anabolic steroids.
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 A cluster of norms that describe what it means to be a successful athlete
 Four specific norms make up the sport ethic
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 Athlete must love the game above all else, i.e., give it total priority
 This involves:
– Meeting the competition demands without question
– Making sacrifices (e.g., family)
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 Constantly seeking improvement
 Continuously getting closer to perfection
– “swifter, higher, stronger”
Tatiana Grigorieva
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 Athlete does not give in to pressure, pain, or fear
 Success comes with:
– Overcoming the fear and challenge of competition
– Accepting the increased risk of failure and injury
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 Obligation to pursue one’s dream to succeed without question
 Anything is possible if a person is dedicated enough
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 Cheating occurs when the norms of the sport ethic are accepted without question
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 Rules are bent in order to sign promising talent
 e.g., “getting around” the rules regarding athletic scholarships
 “Ignoring” the required admission average standards
 Others?
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 Athletes have their course work written by
“academic support” staff
 Little evidence that athletes engage in more academic cheating than other students
 However, cheating is cheating!
– Pressure to maintain a certain GPA has the potential to cause athletes to consider cheating
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 Modification of equipment
– Fencing: rewiring athletes
– Baseball: using cork-filled bats, applying Vaseline on the ball
 Modification of play
– Basketball: using physical contact to throw-off an opponent’s jump shot when out of the referee’s sight lines
 Others?
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1.
2.
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To gain a winning edge
Just to stay competitive e.g., Ben Johnson tragedy
IOC considers certain performanceenhancing drugs illegal because:
1. They give one an unfair advantage
2. They have serious health side-effects
Athletes must be counselled to stay drugfree
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Drug Physiological Effect Performance Effect
Anabolic steroids
Amphetamines
Cocaine
↑ muscle mass
↑ muscle tension, HR,
BP
Physiological stimulant
↓ body density
↑ muscle strength and power
Prepare body for competition
Help overcome fear
Rectal Air
Injections
Alkalines Neutralize accumulation of acids in the blood
Blood Boosting ↑ oxygen carrying capacity
Beta-adrenergic receptors
↑ swimmer’s buoyancy
Postpone fatigue
Postpone fatigue
Physiological sedative To steady the hands
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 Women were not allowed to vote, get education, make own decisions, etc.
 This prevented them from making decisions with respect to their participation in physical activity
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1948 Olympics
– 400m relay
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 Women were described almost exclusively by their biology as reproducing organisms
 Physical exertion was thought to destroy a woman’s potential to have children
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Women were expected to act “lady-like”
– Female athletes were negatively labelled because they did not act in accordance with these norms
 Many sports were discouraged because they prevented women from acting “lady-like”
– e.g., bicycling
 Female athletes were expected to emphasize their femininity
– e.g., by wearing feminine clothes, which impaired performance
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Single most important change in the world of sport over the past generation was – INCREASED
PARTICIPATION OF
FEMALES
Women can now freely participate in sports that were not available to them a few decades ago
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 Development of new teams and programs since the late 1970’s is linked with increased participation
– Unfortunately, women still don’t receive an equal share of opportunities in today’s society - e.g.?
 These new opportunities have resulted from political changes
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In early 1980’s in Canada, pressure from women’s groups led to the investigation of sport opportunities
Findings from 1984 study:
– 64% of inter-collegiate athletes were males
Findings from 1987 study:
– 64% of inter-collegiate athletes were still males
Today
– More females enjoy equal access in university sports
– Women’s sports are not usually promoted as mass sports
– Male athletes still enjoy greater financial rewards than female athletes
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Over the past 30 years:
Emphasized that females excel as human beings when they are given the opportunity to develop their physical abilities
Played role in redefining occupational and family roles for women
In 1996, U.N.’s Fourth World Conference on
Women called for:
Increased efforts to provide sports opportunities
New efforts to promote education, health, and human rights for females all over the world
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Since the mid1970’s health research highlighted the many benefits of regular participation in physical activity for females
 Today, well-toned muscles and CV fitness are no longer seen as desirable only in the male population
 Some traditional standards still remain in terms of clothing fashion and marketing strategies
– Examples?
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 Today, there are increased opportunities for girls and women to follow female athletes in media
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This provides them with role models and encourages them to be active athletes themselves
Unfortunately, women’s sports are still not covered as often or with the same detail as men’s sports
– Examples?
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The preceding factors have:
– Collectively fostered increased interest in sport participation for females
– Emphasized that gender equity in sports is an important goal
In today’s society,
– Gender equity is far from being achieved
• Example?
– But the movement is underway and there is no turning back
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 Race
– Involves reference to physical traits
– BUT is based on meanings that people have given to those particular physical traits
 Ethnicity
– Not based on physical traits
– Based on characteristics associated with cultural traditions and background
 Minority group
– A socially identified group that experiences discrimination and suffers social disadvantages
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 Only white athletes were allowed to play on major league baseball teams
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Black athletes played in
Negro Leagues
Jackie Robinson – first black baseball player to play in the major leagues
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 Progress has been made leading to a significant increase in black athlete representation
50
40
30
20
10
0
90
80
70
60
Black Athlete Representation Trends in
Three Professional Sports
Baseball
Football
Basketball
1950 1960 1970
Year
1980 1990 2000
 However, the majority of people in power (e.g., team owners) are white, so the possibility of unequal access still exists
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 Two major concerns of native peoples with respect to sports:
1. Equity concerns
• Natives are at the bottom of the social ladder
• They lack financial resources, sports facilities, coaching, and sporting event opportunities
2. Cultural concerns
• Maintenance of cultural values in sports
• e.g., maintenance of snow snake or lacrosse
• e.g., maintenance of inclusion and sharing (vs. competition)
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 Traditionally people with disabilities have been segregated in our society and sports
 Determination shown by Terry Fox, Rick Hansen, and others has led to highlighted attention of achievements of disabled athletes
 Changes that allowed disabled individuals to become less segregated members of our society:
– Crippled, handicapped, retarded  disabled
– More sporting events are being offered
– Bill C-62
– More ramps and accessibility
– Others?
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 Professional sport is highly male, heterosexual, and homophobic
 “Coming out” in a sporting environment puts individual’s social status, family and fan affection, and even success at risk
 Dave Kopay (1976) - First
North American athlete to
“come out”
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Martina
Navratilova
Greg Louganis
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 Gay Games
– Formed in 1982
– Since then their popularity has increased tremendously
– People of all sexual orientations are welcomed
– Key philosophy: PARTICIPATION,
SUPPORT, INCLUSIVENESS AND
ENJOYMENT
– This philosophy is opposite to conventional international competitions, which stress exclusion and ranking
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Older adults were discouraged from participating in sport due to:
1. Developmental theory
2. Old Medical practice
Today, physical activity is viewed as part of an overall healthy lifestyle in persons of all ages
Organized sports are being established to meet the needs of older adults
– Allow a great deal of social interactions
– Do not involve intimidation, use of physical force, or high-risk activities
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 Greater emphasis on illness prevention vs. treatment
– Physical activity will become an integral part of illness prevention
 Wellness movement
– Emphasis on involvement in participation sports vs. performance sports
 Educational curricula
– Less emphasis on performance sports
– More emphasis on physical activities that involve lifetime skills
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 Rejection of traditional performance sports for alternative sports
 Youths will continue to form own sport in order to avoid the constraints of traditional sports
 Alternative sports will embody some aspects of pleasure and participation sports
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 More people will choose to watch vs. participate in sports
 Increasing variation in the sports to watch
– e.g., soccer, alternative sports, fishing channel
 Increased exposure to sports from other cultures
 Virtual sports
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