Beyond Concussed

Much of the time spent discussing athletics is focused upon the positive intrinsic characteristics and behavioral values developed by the experience of sports participation. Especially at the youth level, the growth and self-awareness that are fostered by physical and team competition are astoundingly beneficial examples of experiential education. We should all, however, be very concerned about the violence that is acceptable in sports, because it is certainly not acceptable in civilized society.

We have to put this aggression in a context, especially for kids, and give it a solid check ourselves. Informing and debriefing violence, explaining the purposes and consequences, teaching self-awareness, self-discipline, self-regulation, respect for others, and creating standards for the conduct of aggressive behavior are critical to the preservation of both our humanity and morality. Outside the Lines: Danger on the Ice is a video segment produced by ESPN discussing hockey hits in youth sports, concerned mostly with concussions, but the ripple effect far exceeds head trauma.

Violence is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: “Rough or injurious physical force, action, or treatment”, and this is a major component of most combat sports. According to ESPN, there are 293,691 registered youth hockey players in the US, a large number of young kids involved in a sport that encourages fights, especially when their role models are participating. As violence is defined, tackling, checking, shoving, blocking, etc. are all aggressively physical acts.

On March 8^th, 2011, Zdeno Chara's injurious hit on Max Pacioretty during a Canadians/Bruins game left our mouths agape for all of two seconds, then we accepted it as part of the sport and moved on. There is something terribly wrong with that. The concern with these types of behavior is that they are built into the games themselves. These events are not frowned upon, but rewarded and celebrated. In 2008, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, there was a rate of 449.4 violent felony assaults per 100,000 people. That this rate is climbing is evidence of a deficiency of values in our culture, one that might be related to sport.

A darker picture of youth athletics comes into focus when considering that the lack of proper contextualization of violence in sport may directly impact the violent behavior of society. In On Killing, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman discusses how human beings have a natural resistance to violence, describing it as a “Universal human phobia.” It is actually a refreshing thought, but as we start to overcome our ingrained resistance to intimate physical contact, we open the door to all manner of sociopathy and inconsistent behavioral characteristics, and unfortunately, traumatized kids can become violent adults. The fact is, we have become very good at finding ways around our natural resistance.

Informing and discussing the consequences of brutality, and instilling standards of behavior discourage kids from resorting to violence. USA Hockey is debating raising the age at which checking is acceptable, and eliminating the angles on the ice (plates of glass 90 degrees rather than curved, the existing lip between the glass and the boards) might decrease the damaging effects of some hits, but we are avoiding the real issue. It seems that no one wants to face the fact that violence begets violence, and that the traditional nature of sport itself is what really needs to change.