Violence in Sports

After viewing Daryl Cagle's Cartoons at http://cagle.com/news/NBAViolence/1.asp each student was asked to write a paragraph on their opinion of the current level of violence in sports.

I think that violence in sports is not a good example for the fans because the kids watch that too and they think that violence is good just because they see their favorite player fighting or disrespecting others, plus it will mess up the player’s reputation anywhere they play or go. CA

My opinion on violence in the NBA: I think it’s getting bad players into fights over little fouls. I think that violence is getting people hurt and killed. I think when the NBA fights that they are showing a bad example to the people that are watching the NBA. EP

I think this violence is getting ridiculous! These people, superstars, are some of our kid’s role models. They are idols of children. Look at what they are teaching America! That it is ok to fight, and show bad sportsmanship. I think that the people who fight should be suspended for the year without pay. Maybe then they will think twice about fighting. The statistics show that 70% of all basketball players in the NBA are convicted felons. What does that tell you? PO (This statistic is unconfirmed. I’d be interested in some response on actual data. BJB)

I think violence in the NBA is no different from any other sport. It’s just because most NBA players are from urban areas. They want to stretch it out to its full extent. I feel just to talk about the NBA is ridiculous. MM

Now when I say the word violence I mean fighting and talking trash. There shouldn’t be any of that because playing basketball should be something fun. Basketball is a very fun sport. I’m not saying that you can’t get mad if someone fouls you cause you can, but don’t start talking trash and then want to hit someone.

I feel that soccer is getting real bad. People are getting very mad during the sport, taking anger out by kicking the ball but acting to miss and hitting the opponent so they will be injured and taken out of the game and the refs don’t do their job well. They should call it kick boxing as much as the other person gets kicked and no cause. DG

To me the violence in sports is bound to happen one way or another, but there is a place and time. For every action there is always a reaction. The violence is definitely up and it is a wrong and bad characteristic of professional sports today in my opinion. People need to think about the consequences before they react. SS

I think there is a lot of violence in sports. I think this is bad because the youth in America and all around the world pay a lot of attention to basketball players and show a lot of adoration toward them. This could lead to a lot of trouble because kids could think that it’s alright to fight because their idols do. KS

My opinion is about the violence that happens in NBA. I think they should stop getting so frustrated over a game. They are going to waste their career over a little dispute. They can hurt themselves or hurt someone in the crowd. They’re not being very positive role models for the kids that look up to them. BS

My opinion on the violence going on in the NBA I think it is crazy because most kids including me wanted to become a basketball player, but now that we see all the things going on in the NBA most people don't even want to play for teh NBA any more. I think it should just be like the old days and just play the game right. DJ

Sports is very violent because everyone tries to be better than one another. Second reason is because it can be a contact sport. Third reason is because of jealousy. AG