Deviance In Sports
As we the people of the world enter a new millennium many sociological problems can be viewed in everyday life. Problems, which often are confused and not well understood through the world’s outlook. One such problem that this paper will focus on is “Deviance In Sports”. This paper will discuss and elaborate on certain points and topics such as:
1. What is deviance?
2. How do acts of deviance influence the society of today when committed by athletic role models?
3. Why are male athletes found to engage in deviant acts more so than women?
First, to understand and discuss the idea of deviance in sports one must ask the question what is deviance? The Random House College Dictionary defines the word deviate as characterized by “deviation from an accepted norm, as of behavior; a person or thing that departs from the accepted norm or standard”. Alex Thio, the author of Sociology A Brief Introduction Third Edition defines deviance “as an act that is considered by public consensus or by the powerful at a given place and time to be a violation of some social rule”. In today’s society we find the word deviance to mean different things to different people, this is due to people having different opinions on whether an act violated a social norm or not. In the world of sports deviance is viewed differently on the playing field than if it were seen in the streets of a city or small town. In Jay J. Coakley’s Sport in Society Sixth Edition, Coakley states, “what is normal in sports may be deviant outside of sports”. “Athletes are allowed and even encouraged to behave in ways that are prohibited or defined as criminal in other settings”. “For example, much of the behavior of athletes in contact sports would be classified as felony assault if it occurred on the streets”.
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For hundreds of years, sports have been used for entertainment and some would argue that entertainment is sports only use and that sports hold no other value. Some believe that sports are important because of the competition that many sports like football and basketball among various other sports require. However, sports can teach some of life’s most important lessons and values to the youth who ...
To better understand this, most sociologist like to use the Alternative Approach rather than the Absolutist or Relativist approaches. Coakley illustrates that the Alternative Approach states: “Deviance Can Be Negative or Positive”. When one uses this approach they see that most behaviors fall into a normal range of acceptability in connection with any particular norm. Coakley also states “Deviance occurs when behaviors fall outside this range of what is acceptable on either side of a normally accepted range of behavior”. With this in mind it can be seen in both Coakley and Thio’s works that deviance can come from underconformity, which basically is a behavior that goes against accepted rules or set behaviors by a lack of knowledge for that rule (negative deviance); or by overconformity which basically is a behavior that follows accepted rules so close that it interferes with the well being of that person and those around him or her (positive deviance).
With these ideas or guide lines for studying deviance in sports, sociologists are now able to understand what deviance actually is in sports and how it effects those people both directly or indirectly related to sports.
Secondly, we ask ourselves what influence does deviant acts in the sports world have on our society as a whole. In today’s society a person can turn on the television and see athletic games viewed worldwide. In these games deviant acts are seen all the time, but deviance on the playing field is viewed as part of the American way. For example, football players and soccer players are expected to be physically rough on the field because their sports are considered high contact sports. Another example is baseball teams who use the spitball or corked bats to gain a small advantage over their opposing team. These are prime examples of positive deviance, but this is not what society is worried about. Society is worried about the deviance that is being committed by athletes off the field which gains large media coverage such as, deviance in the form of athletes being arrested for bar fighting, sexual assaults, driving while under the influence, using or dealing street drugs, and being involved in criminal acts. In today’s society we see more and more athletes pushing the limits when it comes to deviance off the field. Many athletes believe that since they are celebrities to the American public that certain rules do not apply to them.
The Essay on Deviance In Society Strong Social
What does it mean to say, "deviance is socially defined?" Deviance is defined as, "The recognized violation of cultural norms." Deviance is an act of rebellion against set of rules, and expected behavior established by a certain society. Deviance is defined in many different ways. It is depended on the norms of the society, and region. Individuals become deviant when people label their actions as ...
Coakley states that “the Los Angeles Times reported that during 1995 in the U.S., there were newspaper stories on 350 intercollegiate and professional athletes, nearly all men, who were implicated in 252 cases of crimes and criminal charges”. “The cases of criminal assault outnumbered those of any other type of offense, and most of the assault cases involved women as victims”. “Drug possession and use were the next most frequently mentioned charges”. The bad thing about this is that when athletes are charged with a crime they receive wide spread media coverage which broadcasts all around the world. In doing this it shows the young adults of the world that famous athletes are being confronted by the same pressures they are confronted with everyday and are giving in to them. Also, when athletes are charged with crimes they have well paid attorneys to get their charges dropped and nothing is usually done except maybe a fine or two game suspension by the athletic board. This message sent to the younger adults of society illustrates that it is somewhat okay to commit deviant acts whether they are positive or negative. Through this, society sees a copycat effect of deviant acts throughout the world because young adults now emulate their idols who have engaged in criminal acts of deviance. With these facts in mind the American society asks themselves what is the world of sports coming to in society since public icons are doing the things they inform others not to do.
The Review on Deviance In Sports Mike Tyson
INTRODUCTION In the opinion of many fans, deviance and criminality are rampant among athletes in today's power and performance sports. Onlookers feel that it has gotten worse in recent years. Take for instance, last month's Pistons/ Pacers spectacle in which five NBA stars were charged with misdemeanors. A highly publicized event, the fight gave further publicity to the very actions that many deem ...
Finally, the question comes to mind of why are male athletes found to engage in acts of deviance more so than woman? Coakley states, “that when men become emotionally bound together in all-male groups that demand unqualified allegiance and emphasize physical dominance, they often express their sense of togetherness through committing acts of deviance”. For example, “Using self-reports collected in one university from introductory sociology students and a range of intercollegiate athletes across all four years, Koss and Gaines (1993) found that sexual assault seemed to be associated with participation in revenue-producing sports”. In a whole sociologist around the world are using tests and studies in the forms of self-reports, official statistics, interview data from male athletes and coaches, ethnographic data on athletic teams and groups, along with data from focus groups composed of male athletes alone, female athletes alone, and male and female athletes together in hopes of finding helpful information pertaining to deviance in sports. Although there are no sure explanations to why male athletes are more highly engaged in acts of deviance both on and off the field than are women, it is seen that athletic boards and administrations are tightening up on the consequences or punishments athletes receive when breaking the rules.
In conclusion, this paper has defined deviance by Jay J. Coakley as “an act that is considered by public consensus or by the powerful at a given place and time to be a violation of some social rule”. At the same time it has illustrated that deviant acts committed by athletic role models creates a negative image for the American public and that even though at this very moment in time there are no explanations of why male athletes engage in a higher rate of deviant acts than do women, sociologist are trying to piece together information in hopes of solving this mystery. The sooner we eliminate the problem of deviance both on and off the field the closer we come to restoring the idols of today and the sports of tomorrow.
Bibliography
Bibliography Page
Coakley, Jay J., Sport In Society “Issues &
Controversies” 6th Edition. WCB/McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Stein, Jess, The Random House College Dictionary
The Term Paper on Criminal Acts In Sport
Criminal Acts in Sport; Getting Away With Murder Introduction The amount of crimes that occur in and around sports has been a growing topic of conversation over the last decade in our society. Sports participants and spectators alike have been committing crimes on far more frequent basis over the last few years and in the minds of some, this is an issue that is getting or has gotten out of hand. ...
Revised Edition. Random House, Inc., 1988.
Thio, Alex., Sociology A Brief Introduction 3rd
Edition. Wesley Longman, Inc. 1997.
