Changes of Violence in Sport

Changes of Violence in Sport GÜNTER A. PILZ (F.R.G.) Abstract In the course of a development sociological analysis the question is asked, if violence in sports in the course of civilization process increases or decreases. The seeming contradiction between the thesis of decrease of violence in sports and the thesis of increase of violence in sports is solved by differentiating between expressive, pleasant, affective violence on one hand and instrumental, affectless, rational violence on the other. It can be seen that within long term development trends in society of increasing control of affects and monopolizing violence, expressive violence in sports is more and more repressed, tamed, i.e. compared to earlier forms of sports expressive violence in sports today has decreased. On the other hand change of sports towards success orientation, increasing economical, political, and public significance of sports leads to an increase of instrumental violence in the sense of a consciously planned, aggressive rule violation in the interest of higher aims. In contrast to this an analysis of development of female sports shows - because of the change in power balance between sexes, the change of female behavior standards - that in female sports as well an increase of instrumental as of expressive violence can be noted in the sense of an adjustment process to general social violence standards. Following the newest discussion on the problem of ’sports and violence&dquo; one can distinguish between two apparent contradicting theses: 1. Within long-term social changes, the changes of control of violence, the increasing control of affects and monopolizing of violence, violence in sports is more and more repressed, tamed, i.e. compared to earlier forms of sports, violence in sports today has decreased (see: Elias, 1975). 2. Changes of modern sports with regard to success orientation, increasing signification of sports success, economical, political and public valuation of sports success, leads to an increase of violence in sports- (see : Weis, 1976). The apparent contradiction between the thesis of decrease of violence in sports and the thesis of increase of violence in sports can be solved- by diffferentiating between two forms of violence: expressive, pleasant, affective, joyful violence on one hand, and instrumental, affectless, rational violence on the other hand.. Downloaded from irs.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on August 16, 2016 48 The following explanations will show, that within a long-term social change, expressive violence in sports is more and more r epressed, tamed; expressive violence in sports has decreased. However, the change of modern sports aiming towards an increasing social significance of sports leads to an increase of instrumental violence, in the sense of a consciously planned, aggressive rule violation out of interest of higher aims. In contrast to this an analysis of development of female sport shows - because of the change in power balance between sexes, the change of female behaviour standards - that in female sports as well an increase of instrumental violence can be noted in the sense of a process of adjustment to general social violence standards. In opposition to the unhistorical and static view of sports which is predominant in sports sciences, I agree with Elias (1975, p. 105) that &dquo;sports is a manifestation of specific social developments&dquo;. The outward appearance and the problems of sports today can - from this point of view - only be explored, interpreted and understood by examining them in the context of long-term changes of society and sports. 1. DECREASE OF EXPRESSIVE VIOLENCE IN MALE SPORTS For better understanding, it seems necessary to describe the term -expressive violence. Expressive violence means violent actions which are allowed by the regulations of sport. These actions are exercised and perceived with positive feelings and do not charge the social conscience. In this way, expressive violence corresponds with the socially tolerated level of physical violence and with the sports specific standards of violence as they are described by Elias (1977) with the term &dquo;Angri f f slust&dquo; (pleasure form for attacking). Following the development of the rules of different sports, we can notice a strong decrease of violence. The changes of the rules were mostly aiming at decreasing and repressing the socially tolerated level of physical violence that is connected with the sports rules. Thus Dunning (1979) interprets the development of football and rugby as a tendency to more civilized forms of behavior. A comparison of the &dquo;structural properties of Folk-Games and Modern Sports&dquo; (Dunning, 1979, p. 33 f.) can elucidate this tendency. These comparisons show how football has become more and more civilized ; they show the growing &dquo;civilization&dquo; of the game in the sense of a growing decrease of expressive violence. &dquo;They mean that, as part of the incipient modernization of football, the players began to be ex- pected to exercise a higher degree of self-control and that some of the more violent features of the game in its earlier stages began to be erad- icated to more stringent control&dquo; (Dunning, 1975, p. 111). Comparing the rules, the earlier forms of sports, the &dquo;folk-games&dquo; were considerably less organized, less differentiated, more wild, and brutal, than today. Downloaded from irs.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on August 16, 2016 49 TABLE 1 The Structural Properties of Folk-Games and Modern Sports (Dunning, 1979, p. 33 f.; selection by G. A. Pilz) They allowed a considerably higher level of socially tolerated violence (Dunning, 1979; Rittner, 1978). It seems to be worthwhile to prove these aspects by some extracts of reports of earlier sport events. Thus commentaries of the fights during the antique Olympic Games in Greece are more like horror stories than reports of sports events. Drees (see Elias, 1975, p. 93) gives an account of two boxers in the classical antiquity: &dquo;The first gives his opponent a punch on his head, that he survived. As the other one however neg- lected his cover, the opponent struck him with stretched-out fingers in the side and teared out his intestines and killed him in this way.&dquo; It was not seldom in the antique Olympic Games that an athlete killed during a single combat was subsequently declared Olympic winner because of his having fought especially bravely, because of having died a hero. In the Pancration, the antique form of boxing and wrestling the athletes were allowed to cut out the opponent’s eyes. Reading the rules of today’s Olympic wrestling it can be easily seen how strongly ex- Downloaded from irs.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on August 16, 2016 50 pressive violence has decreased since the antique Olympic Games. To understand this disproportionate degree of tolerated violence in the antique sports, as compared with today, it is necessary to put it into re- lation with the standards of the control of violence, the socially tolerated degree of violence and the norms of the antique Greek society. Elias (1975, p. 101) is right, when he points out, that in antique Greece the protection of the citizens wasn’t exclusively the task of the state, and therefore family ties were much more important than today. Re- latives had to protect each other against violence. To do physical violence, to glorify violence, was to a certain degree vitally necessary. A controlling institution that could condemn physical violence wasn’t yet existing. No social conscience had taken shape as yet, a sensitivity for violence. Physical violence such as~torturing and killing, also watching such actions didn’t bring forth horror but joy and amuse.ment. In con, sequence of the growing economical involvement natural economy was substituted by capital economy. According to this development a more calculated, more rational, and more far-seeing behavior had become necessary and, connected with it, also an increasing control of affects and of physical violence (compare: von Krockow, 1980, p. 4). The increasing differentiation, the increasing division of labour in the course of the civilizing process leads to a growing control of the &dquo;affect-economy&dquo; (A f f ekthaushalt), and also to a distinct sensitivity of physical violence. In other words: corresponding to the change of the way of production acts of cruelty, taking delight in physical violence, have become more and more controlled by society. Violence in sports is therefore always to be seen and interpreted in the context of the general norms and standards of socially tolerated physical violence of the standards oi violence-control and the social conscience concerning physical violence, In this way Dunning (1979) shows, how from 1840 onwards physical violence, regarded as legitimate in Rugby, began to be reduced by written conditions and prohibitions. Some of the more brutal practicea of earlier time were rooted out and, to the extent that a player could be persuaded or compelled to adhere to the new rules, the game did no longer exclusively resemble serious fighting. Could one see the athletes retiring home in the earlier football-games or &dquo;folk-games&dquo; &dquo;as from a pitched battle, with bloody pates, broken bones, and of joint, and such bruses as serve to shorten their daies&dquo;... (Dunning, 1979, p. 27), the &dquo;game had begun to grow more civilized as well as more complex&dquo;. This can be seen &dquo;from the seven 1945 rules dealt with physical force&dquo; (Dunning, 1979, p. 93 f.). 1. &dquo;Charging is fair in the case of a place kick as soon as the ball has touched the ground; in the case of a kick from a catch, as soon as the player’s foot has left ground and not before.&dquo; Downloaded from irs.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on August 16, 2016 51 2.

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