| In ancient societies, athletics and | | | | on sports violence reflect not an increase in |
| especially competitive contact games always | | | | the incidence or severity of aggression, but |
| have been rough, but aggression in the past | | | | greater public concern with moral issues and |
| was tempered by an insistence that playing | | | | political discourse? |
| hard, playing to win, did not countenance | | | | |
| playing to cheat and to hurt. One of the very | | | | Contrary to popular belief, there appears to |
| first nations that expressed athletic ideals, | | | | be growing dissatisfaction with sports |
| were the Greeks. As enunciated by Pindar, the | | | | violence. Changes in sports rules, |
| athletic ideal incorporated courage and | | | | developments in the design of equipment, and |
| endurance with modesty, dignity, and | | | | even the physical characteristics of modern |
| fair-mindedness, those elusive qualities the | | | | sports arenas evolved in an effort to reduce |
| Greeks called Aidos. As sports became more | | | | violence or its consequences. But still, |
| specialized, the general populace | | | | among athletic management teams, government |
| increasingly withdrew into spectatorship. | | | | officials, fans and athletes themselves, |
| Sports history reveals that although Greek | | | | there is an ambivalence attitude towards |
| sports had increasingly marred by corruption | | | | sports violence. The ambivalence takes the |
| and bribes, nonetheless they flourished in an | | | | form of justifying the existence of violence |
| era which witnessed the rapid expansion of | | | | in sports, but not taking personal |
| stadiums and arenas under the Roman Empire. | | | | responsibility for it. Coaches and managers |
| During the Roman Empire, violence in sports | | | | tend to blame fans, saying that violence is |
| became the generally accepted principle and | | | | what attracts people into stadiums, as the |
| spectators not only endorsed it, but also | | | | risk entailed makes the game more |
| embraced it as a social norm. | | | | "interesting". Athletes frequently admit that |
| | | | they are opposed to violence, but it is |
| In recent years sports violence has become to | | | | expected of them by coaches. Fans justify it |
| be perceived as a social problem. Commissions | | | | by attributing aggressiveness to athletes and |
| have been appointed in Canada and England to | | | | to situational aspects of the game. |
| investigate violence among hockey players and | | | | Spectators view violence as an inherent part |
| soccer fans. Numerous examples of violence in | | | | of some sports as one cannot play games like |
| professional sports exist today, as counties | | | | hockey or football, without accepting the |
| like the United States, Canada, Greece, Italy | | | | necessity of violent action. |
| and Germany, report court cases have been | | | | |
| heard which concern the victims of violence | | | | Nevertheless, public opinion tends to focus |
| perpetrators. Newspapers, magazines and | | | | more and more on sports violence as major |
| television programs portray bloodied athletes | | | | advances in the technologies used have |
| and riotous fans at hockey, boxing, football, | | | | increased media coverage making information |
| soccer, baseball, and basketball games with | | | | available to a vast global audience. Thus, |
| what appears to be increasing regularity. But | | | | contemporary critics tend to consider sports |
| are sports violence incidents actually | | | | violence as a worldwide phenomenon with |
| increasing, and if so, what is the reason of | | | | highly disturbing future course and social |
| such a negative increase? Or does the | | | | outcomes. |
| heightened public attention and media focus | | | | |