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Violence in Sports
click on the hyperlinked title or see the August 26, 2002, issue of Sports Illustrated.
Race car driver Tony Stewart has gone beyond apologizing publicly for his violent outburst against a freelance photographer. He's made an equally public commitment to seek help, and is quoted as saying: "If it makes me less of a person or less of a man, then so be it. It's what I have to do for myself." This is a major step forward for Stewart, writes sports columnist Jemal Horton, " it also just might serve as a signal for all the other hot heads in the world of sports." For more on what Stewart's contrition says, see "Give Stewart credit for his major step," C. Jemal Horton, The Indianapolis Star, August 11, 2002.
Seeing the handwriting of self-destruction on the wall for NASCAR's Tony Stewart (who got into an altercation with a freelance photographer a couple days ago), sports columnist Jemal Horton urges him to, shall we say, take it upon himself to develop healthier life skills. Horton's column shows how complicated inducing proper behavior is when anti-heroes are admired and rewarded for deviant behavior. Just a parent must make difficult decisions about whether and how to punish or discipline a misbehaving child, Nascar and Stewart's other authority figures also face tough, and maybe futile, choices. See "Stewart needs to change his ways," C. Jemal Horton, The Indianapolis Star, August 6, 2002.
Another bothersome aspect of the latest string of reported domestic abuse by athletes, writes sports columnist Rick Telander, is the lack of remorse or regret shown by some of them. Not that he wants apologies to become "easy escapes for bad guys," but "taking responsibility and apologizing for bad acts is," he writes, "the start of rebirth." Sadly, for many of these rich and famous stars, he notes, "Apologizing is seen not as a moral issue, but as a weakening of one's defense strategy." See "Just a few regrets," Rick Telander, The Chicago Sun-Times, July 28, 2002.
The perception that athletes are more prone than other men to batter women carries a message that sports leaders mustn't ignore, says sportswriter Steve Wilstein of the Associated Press. He writes, "It's an issue of image for the leagues that threatens them at the most basic level—popularity and revenue. More than that, it's an issue that can have serious repercussions for impressionable young fans, validating brutality and a disregard for the law." Wilstein quotes sports sociologist Richard Lapchick: "It's really essential that batterers be banned from sports. Not because there's a disproportionate number of athletes who are involved, but because they're such role models for kids. If kids see athletes get away with hurting a woman, then they might feel that it's OK for them, that they're going to get away with the same thing." See "Banning batterers from sports is idea whose time has come," Steve Wilstein, Associated Press, July 30, 2002.
"The majority of professional athletes may be decent enough sorts who are … quite civil to the women [next page]