Download - Deviance and violence in sport
Contemporary Influences Affecting Provision, Choice, Participation and
Performance in Physical Activity
Section BExamined by one 20 mark question
from a choice of 2
Socio-cultural and economic factors that affect opportunity,
participation, provision, attitudes and values
Deviance in Sport
Lesson Obs:1. Define and explain the terms gamesmanship
and sportsmanship with examples2. Explain the contract to compete giving the 3
components of morality in sport it upholds3. Explain the terms positive, negative and
relative deviance giving examples in a sporting context
4. Name 4 possible causes of deviance in today’s society
“If you can meet with triumph and disasters and treat the two imposters just the same”. Rudyard Kipling – Wimbledon statue
Batting on a sticky wicket
Being on the ropes
The final hurdle
Our culture puts sport on a pedestal and our sporting heroes
are influential role models.
Millions watch sport on the TV – Olympics, World Cup,
Premiership matches, F1
But sometimes are sporting heroes let us down….
When we enter in to a sporting
situation we enter in to an unwritten
moral contract with the others involved.
(Pledged verbally at the Olympics)
Contract to compete
An unwritten code governing how to strive to play fairly, within the rules
SportsmanshipConforming to the rules, spirit and
etiquette of a sport
Based on the C to C we expect performers to:
1. Try their best2. Show sportsmanship
3. Respect rules and officials
The spirit of the contest Concept based on a deep
UK culture – the Victorian ideas of fair play,
amateurism, athleticism, respect for opponent,
taking part not winning etc
Fair play
Character
Sportsmanship
Three components of morality in sport
Allowing all participants an equal chance – acting towards other performers in an honest,
straightforward, dignified manner – assumes respect of team mates, opponents and
officials
Refers to values and habits that determine the way a person
reacts to fears, challenges, failures and success – typically seen as polite behaviours – helping an opponent up, shaking hands
Overtime a more negative ethic has
invaded sport involving for example:
1. prize money,2. Gamesmanship3. The idea that
winning is everything
4. The use of drugs
Gamesmanship – bending the rules – often seen as time wasting in some sports
1. Pressure to win increased in modern times – pressures can lead to deviant
behaviour2. Sometimes performer lacks morals or
ethical restraints that might govern their behaviour
3. Pressure increase as the importance of the occasion increases
4. Will also increase with age potentially
Some pressures are external – outside control of performer – demands from sponsors, the
intrusion of media, expectations of organisers/crowd, demand
from coach/team mates
Functional actions in sport – within the contract to compete:
1. Returning the ball to the opposition after an injury break
2. Clapping the opposition after losing3. ‘walking’ in cricket4. Clapping the opposition’s century5. Exhausting yourself in the attempt to win6. Lending the opposition a player if they are
short7. Admitting fouls
Dysfunctional actions in sport
1. Arguing with the referee2. Appealing for a throw when you know it’s not
yours3. Deliberately fouling to prevent good performance4. Diving in a game to gain a foul5. Tying laces to get a rest6. Using drugs
Reasons why this behaviour is contrary to the contract to compete:• Acts of violence is outside the rules of the activity and outside the characteristics,
etiquette and ethics of the activity• In general violence will deprive the victim of free and fair opportunity to win
• Violence is often against the law
• Some games will allow violence if mutually agreed, accepted limits, and in some sports within the rules – e.g. boxing
Deviance=
Dysfunctional actions in sport
From Latin – De (from) via (way)
Deviance could be:
Voluntary e.g. performer
decide
Co-operative e.g. the performer decides to take
drugs because all his friends are doing so
Enforced e.g. a former East German swimmer took drugs because her coach gave them to her
Deviance: behaviour that falls outside the norms with in society or outside what is deemed to be
acceptable
Also behaviour of spectators,
managers, coaches and officials
Behaviour of players
Breaking the laws of sport
v breaking the laws
of society
Sport can be seen as a subsection of social behaviour
Types of devianceSports sociologist Jay Coakley (1992) considered 3 types of behaviour:
Positive deviance:Behaviour that is
outside the norm but with no intention to
harm or break rules – overconforming to what is expected
Normal
Negative deviance:Behaviour that goes
against the norm and has a detrimental
effect on individuals and on society in
general – underconforming to
what is expected
Normal distribution for this behaviour
Positive deviance:Behaviour that is
outside the norm but with no intention to
harm or break rules – overconforming to what is expected
E.g. oAn individual who trains or plays so hard they injure themselves oBehaviour that can lead to a disruption of normal lifeoPlay when they are injured
Deviance but their actions are for positive reasons:
They are striving to win or to improve within the ethical guidelines of the activity
Although deviant can be seen in a positive light
Could argue that a player who is striving to win within the rules and etiquette of the sport and who accidently and without intent injures another player is also exhibiting
positive deviance
Negative deviance:Behaviour that goes
against the norm and has a detrimental
effect on individuals and on society in
general – underconforming to
what is expected
Behaves in a way that knowingly and intentionally breaks the rules and ethics of sport
e.g.Using performance enhancing drugsCheating within a contest – deliberately fouling another playerBeing bribed to influence the outcome of a match (e.g. Pakistan cricket scandal)Fan violence or hooliganismIllegal betting on the outcome of a contestFinancial irregularities in the transferring of playersPlayer violenceGamesmanship e.g. diving in football, sledging in cricket
Relative deviance:Deviant behaviour that is not acceptable in wider
society but may be deemed to acceptable by those
involved in a sub-culture
Some behaviour acceptable in sport
but not in wider society? e.g. use of fists in
rugby (hidden in scrum or
otherwise
Players deem this acceptable as
long as violence doesn’t breach an
unwritten limit
BUT gouging & biting
completely off limits
Sport often likes to deal with
things in house
But police less and less willing to turn a blind eye
Deviance and the
contract to compete
Whether or not the behaviour is viewed within a sporting context is determined by whether or not it breaks the contract to compete.
Don’t strive to win or try to loose –
negative deviance
Not trying to win fairly – cheating or
unacceptable physical contact e.g.
biting – negative deviance
Expected to allow opponent fair and
free change to win – taking drugs or
bribing an official does not allow this –
negative deviance
Using tactics, strategies and skills that you use to stop an opponent within the expectations of
the activity – Relative deviance
Concept of relative deviance and the contract to compete are closely linked
Concept increasingly challenge but the
media and society in general
Both imply that somehow sport exists within its
own moral subculture
Rewards of winning so great that a large
number of individuals may be prepared to
cross the line. (May be particularly true of positive deviance)
Causes of deviant
behaviour
Individual lacks moral restraint to keep to code of
conduct
Individuals may value winning above the loss of respect or
punishment that may occur
Deviant behaviour may be becoming less socially
unacceptable and cause less negative comment than in
the past
NGBs may feel less able to punish due to power of commercial interests or fear
of being taken to court by performer who they punish
Is deviance more prevalent in some sports than others?
• Common feature in some sports e.g. cycling, athletics
• No sport is immune – ‘bloodgate’ scandal in rugby
Lesson Obs:1. Define and explain the terms gamesmanship
and sportsmanship with examples2. Explain the contract to compete giving the 3
components of morality in sport it upholds3. Explain the terms positive, negative and
relative deviance giving examples in a sporting context
4. Name 4 possible causes of deviance in today’s society
Lesson Obs:1. Describe at least 3 causes of hooliganism and
3 methods used to combat it2. Explain the impact of hooliganism and player
violence has on those involved, on sport and on wider society
3. Explain why violence between players may occur and how it is dealt with by managers/coaching staff/NGBs
Violence in sport
Violence between players
Violence among
spectators
Two ways this generally occurs:
A spontaneous outburst
A premeditated and planned action
Cause of violence between players:
Most violence occurs as an aggressive act – refer to sport psychology notes
In summary, aggressive behaviour may be caused by:
•Innate•Frustration•Loss of identity (follow the actions of the crowd)•Social learning – imitating others
Within some teams they have a well-known characters (enforcers), whose role it is to physically intimidate the opposition or to act in retaliation on behalf of others
Drugs, gamesmanship taken too far,
hyping-up, presence of spectators, unacceptable
aggression, acts against the law
Dealing with violence between players
Responsibility of individual performers, team managers or
coaches and the NGBs
An NGB may take a range of actions:
•Ensuring that match officials and their decisions are supported when dealing with violent behaviour of players•Punishing players post match•Being prepared to use post-match video evidence•Upholding players with a good disciplinary record as role models•Using ‘fair play’ awards to reward clubs with good disciplinary records•Training officials in player management and how to defuse situations between players
NGBs keen to diminish violence – so sport’s
reputation is not damaged
NGBs like to deal with violence themselves but more involvement from
legal system evident
Important that leaders, managers,, coaches, captains set a good example and set the tone for their teams as they have a
great responsibility for player conduct.
To ensure good player behaviour they could:
Set a good example themselves before and during contests
Establish a clear code of conduct and expectations
Criticise or punish players who fail to meet the code of conduct; play substitutes in their place
Praise or promote those players who set a good example
Where possible, ensure that players who have a low flash point are kept away from high stress situations
Stress appropriate behaviour in team talks
Understand each individual player’s level of arousal and try to avoid overarousal
Train players to manage their own level of arousal
Avoid an attitude of winning at all costs.
Hooliganism
Hooliganism: anti-social or aggressive/violent behaviour by people in a group of spectators
Suggested causes:• Fans drink too much alcohol• Local derby/high tension
between rival fans• Pre-match media hype• Poor officiating• Diminished responsibility
within a large crowd/depersonalisation
• The team being supported is losing
• Poor crowd control/poor policing – crowd confinement
• Religion
Solutions:• Control alcohol sales• All seater stadiums• Improve policing (numbers
increase)/segregation of fans• Stewards• Increase family concept• CCTV• Penalties/bans• More responsible media
reporting• Kick racism out of football
campaign
Hooliganism - CausesRitualised behaviour –
expression of masculinity – a rite of passage……..may be some
explanation but goes beyond this
A form of tribal behaviour?
Membership granted if prove yourself. Group perceive protecting
their local area/patch……Not always locals, supporters of fans in other sports don’t do
this
Tension on pitch – violence between players – or poor ref decision can all trigger
passionate fans………………………may be but doesn’t affect all fans or in
all sports
An outlet for young working class males – feel restricted
by the constraints of an increasingly ‘safe’ society………counterargument –
not all hooligans are working class, not all young men feel need to engage in
this behaviour
Some football groups infiltrated by
extreme political groups
…….true of a minority but cannot
account for all
Change in fan base from just working class to include
middle class (bourgeoisification) and
increased unemployment, loss of trad W/C jobs,
boredom – a reaction to this?…..may be but although
balance has changed…all hooligans not working class
Hooliganism - CausesRitualised behaviour –
expression of masculinity – a rite of passage……..may be some
explanation but goes beyond this
A form of tribal behaviour?
Membership granted if prove yourself. Group perceive protecting
their local area/patch……Not always locals, supporters of fans in other sports don’t do
this
Tension on pitch – violence between players – or poor ref decision can all trigger
passionate fans………………………may be but doesn’t affect all fans or in
all sports
An outlet for young working class males – feel restricted
by the constraints of an increasingly ‘safe’ society………counterargument –
not all hooligans are working class, not all young men feel need to engage in
this behaviour
Some football groups infiltrated by
extreme political groups
…….true of a minority but cannot
account for all
Change in fan base from just working class to include
middle class (bourgeoisification) and
increased unemployment, loss of trad W/C jobs,
boredom – a reaction to this?…..may be but although
balance has changed…all hooligans not working class
Close rivalry between fans – local derbies can inflame
fans passion – particularly when sensationalised by
media…….may be but other sports have rivalries and some of these fans sit together to
enjoy the match
ULTIMATELY……..Impossible to identify
just one cause
Seen as multi-causal – each reason adds to
over overall understanding
Effec
t of v
iole
nce
on in
divi
dual
s,
spor
t and
wid
er s
ocie
ty1. Violence brings a sport in to disrepute2. Damages ability to encourage children, young people and families
to participate3. Parents will not allow their children to be involved in a sport
where their well-being will be put at risk4. A similar reaction is going to happen if poor behaviour occurs at
local matches
Effects: Fan violence leads to poor treatment of legitimate fans and supporters
i.e. held in grounds until home fans gone, herded through streets with suspicion and distrust (particularly abroad)
Career ending tackles as a result of deliberate fouls Individual players may miss chance for international recognition if team restricted from playing in some competitions Huge cost – FA/Club pays some – local police pay rest – tax money spent on this instead of other issuesReputation of country damaged – poor behaviour abroad can effect national morale effect of achieving international success (just as easily as the lift this can bring)
Strategies to combat
hooliganism:
Prevention of known hooligans travelling to
matches – banning orders – having to
report to police stations during match time
Control of alcohol – bans in grounds, on terraces,
local pubs shut
Segregation of fans – travelling and within
grounds
All-seater stadiums – better control of movement
within ground and control of ticket sales
Improved levels of police and stewards (and
training)
CCTV with face-recognition software
Sharing police intelligence/UK officers travel abroad to share
knowledge
Not allowing players to make gestures to crowd or take any
action
Responding to poor behaviour by banning or removal from
competitions, fines, playing matches away or behind closed
doors
Use by FA of high profile role models to appeal for better
supporter behaviour (‘Kick racism out of football’)
Lesson Obs:1. Describe at least 3 causes of hooliganism and
3 methods used to combat it2. Explain the impact of hooliganism and player
violence has on those involved, on sport and on wider society
3. Explain why violence between players may occur and how it is dealt with by managers/coaching staff/NGBs