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Violence in Sports
being enough blood in the his alcohol stream. See "No stop sign in sight," Greg Couch, The Chicago Sun-Times, April 17, 2003.
For more on the role of alcohol in these scraps, see "Alcohol puts a damper on fun and games," Ian O'Connor, USA Today, April 17, 2003. But if you think banning the sale of beer will solve the problem, forget it, says sports columnist Dale Robertson, who explains in green terms why that won't happen—and what should. See "Throw the book at hooligans," Dale Robertson, The Houston Chronicle, April 16, 2003.
Sexual assault gets a free pass … sometimes
When college athletes are accused of sexual assault, but aren't convicted, should they be allowed to retain their scholarships and to resume their sports? In her column about how differently sexual assaults by three mid-west college basketball players were handled Carol Slezak looks at some of the factors that seem to sway college administrators' thinking about the ethics of privilege, prestige and punishment. See "A matter of chance, Carol Slezak, The Chicago Sun-Times, February 19, 2003.
Post-game violence warning
Sports writer Mark Kram vividly depicts a hypothetical post-game celebration that starts out innocently but escalates into a melee. For insight as to what causes fan riots and how they might be curtailed, see "At a loss for answers," Mark Kram, Philadelphia Daily News, January 23, 2003.
Speaking of football fan violence, sports columnist Les Carpenter revisits the stabbing and beating incident at the Chargers-Raiders game in San Diego on October 29, 2000. At that game a San Diego fan narrowly escaped death at the hands of a Raiders fan. See "San Diego prepares for lawless Raiders," Les Carpenter, The Seattle Times, January 22, 2003.
Iraqi athletes allegedly tortured
Sports writer Michael O'Keefe reports: "A Daily News investigation this month found that hundreds of athletes have been jailed, abused or killed because they failed to bring home medals or win important games, criticized Saddam Hussein's regime, or simply became too popular with fans." For more, see "IOC probes torture of athletes in Iraq," Michael O'Keeffe, Daily News, January 21, 2003.
Recent violence mars college and professional football
On celebrating college victories with violence, The New York Times quotes Kent State sociologist Jerry M. Lewis, who specializes in crowd behavior: "College sports riots usually break out in urban settings and after the home team wins a close game during a big championship. People identify so strongly with these football teams and the competition is getting so intense that fans feel violence is a skill and a way of showing loyalty. It's really all about showing you're part of the team." They're predictable, he says, when five factors come into play: a natural urban gathering place is available, there's easy access, a championship is at stake, it is a close game and the home team wins." For more insight, see "Colleges Pondering Prevention After the Latest 'Sports Riots'," Joe Drape, The New York Times, November 26, 2002, and "A Fall Tradition: Rooting and Rioting for the Home Team," Jeffrey Gettleman, The New York [next page]