Too Much Competition, Not Enough Sportsmanship

Essay by CAINIARBHigh School, 10th gradeA, November 2006

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Different forms of violence occur in the world. Currently, one form has manifested itself in the world of sports. Contact sports such as: hockey, soccer, football, baseball, and basketball contain aggressive tactics and motives included in the game. However, when actual violence arises it clearly crosses the boundaries of good sportsmanship. Recently, this has been problematic due to players, coaches, fans, etc. disregarding the restrictions or penalties that attempt to be preventative. The origins of this behavior are various; consequently one or two solutions are virtually impractical. Nonetheless the origins must be determined prior to reflection on solutions.

The desire to win games in sports is crossing the line from competitiveness to unsportsmanlike conduct. Two very broad, yet feasible causes are the desire to win no matter what the consequence and the media's encouragement of aggressive behavior. The current penalties don't have enough impact and are often overshadowed by the desire to win, while the promise of big money makes the media reluctant to back down.

These behaviors that are still permitted, have negative affects on many groups of people. Young fans that are highly influenced by how their favorite player or team acts are susceptible to bad behavior when they learn to play the game. Older fans, especially the parents of younger ones, see this problem as a discussion topic rather than something to be taken seriously. Consequently, some young fans may see this behavior acceptable. Diving deep into the sport itself, players who resort to conduct not intended for the game ignite a disgusted rippling affect within the team. Teammates who give big contributions to the team are overshadowed by the media's focus on an other athlete's problems; contradictory to the idea of no "I" in "Team". Sadly, teams loose players due to inner team controversy. Over a...