Violence in sports
Violence in sports usually refers to violent and often unnecessarily harmful intentional physical acts committed during, or motivated by, a sports game, often in relation to contact sports such as American football, ice hockey, rugby football, lacrosse, association football, boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and water polo and, when referring to the players themselves, often involving excessively violent or potentially illegal physical contact beyond the normal levels of contact expected while playing the sport. These acts of violence can include intentional attempts to injure a player or coach by another player or coach, but can also include threats of physical harm or actual physical harm sustained by players or coaches by fans or those engaging in the spectating of sports, or threats and acts of violence performed by fans or spectators upon opposing fans or other spectators.
Causes
There are two major theories on the cause of violence in sports. One theory holds that humans have an instinct for violence, developed during a time when early human ancestors had to resort to violence and aggressiveness to survive and reproduce. Another theory deals with the sociological aspects of violence in sports, stating that sports are "mock battles" which can become actual battles due to their competitive nature.[1]
In AD 59, a show in Pompeii led to a riot involving residents of Pompei and neighboring Nuceria, leading to numerous deaths. After an investigation by the Roman Senate, the town of Pompeii was banned from holding gladiator shows for 10 years.[4]
gladiator
In 532, the rivalry between supporters of the Blue and Green teams in Constantinople led to 30,000 deaths in the Nika riots.
chariot-racing
The first meeting in the between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah took place in April 1896, when BYU was known as Brigham Young Academy. The two schools disagree to this day as to whether this game was official, but it mattered greatly to the spectators—at the end of the game, the two sets of fans fought one another.
American football rivalry
In the second edition of the in 1904, as the riders climbed the Col de la République in the Loire department, supporters of regional favorite Antoine Faure physically attacked several of his opponents.[5][6] The repercussions of this incident continue to this day—the Tour did not return to Loire until 1950, and although the Tour has returned to the République (the first pass of 1,000 metres ever climbed in the Tour[7]) 11 times since then, its appearances in the 1903 and 1904 Tours are no longer officially recognized as Tour climbs.[8]
Tour de France
In 1972, pummeled Oregon State 30–3 in their annual "Civil War" football rivalry game, held this season at Oregon State's Parker Stadium. After the game, jubilant Oregon fans rushed the field and tore down the south goal post. They then turned to do the same to the north goal post, but were met by Oregon State fans who had come on the field, resulting in a major brawl.[9]
Oregon
In , cyclist Eddy Merckx was viciously punched by a spectator as he climbed the Puy-de-Dôme in the Tour de France. Merckx, who had won the Tour de France five times previously and at the time was in the leader's yellow jersey, finished the stage barely able to breathe, and went on to finish the tour in second place overall.
1975
After knocked out Alan Minter in three rounds to win boxing's world middleweight title at Wembley Arena in 1980, many of Minter's supporters began to throw beer cans, bottles and other objects into the ring. Both Hagler and Minter, along with their respective handlers, had to be escorted out by Scotland Yard.
Marvin Hagler
[11]
At the end of , violence erupted outside of Tiger Stadium in Detroit after the Detroit Tigers defeated the Padres in the World Series. A well known photo from the riot shows a Tigers fan holding a World Series pennant in front of an overturned burning Detroit Police car.
the same season
– 39 people died when a wall collapsed under pressure of Juventus supporters fleeing from 'football hooligans' supporting Liverpool during the 1985 European Cup Final.
Heysel Stadium disaster
– a 1990 football match between Red Star Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb was abandoned after ten minutes with thousands of fans fighting each other and the police. One of the Zagreb players, Zvonimir Boban, was seen to kick a policeman, and after an hour long riot, the stadium was set on fire. Dinamo fans saw the riot as the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence.[12]
Dinamo–Red Star riot
In 1993, a mentally ill tennis fan stabbed during a changeover at a tennis match in Germany.[13]
Monica Seles
In 1994, fans rioted in the streets of Vancouver after their team lost in the Stanley Cup finals.
Vancouver Canucks
During the , Colombian football (soccer) player Andrés Escobar accidentally scored an own goal in a match against the United States, a match which Colombia lost 2–1. On his return to Colombia, Escobar was confronted outside a bar in Medellín by a gunman who shot the player six times, killing him. The gunman reportedly shouted "¡Gol!" ("Goal!") for each bullet fired.
1994 FIFA World Cup
Rioting Indian fans at the Eden Gardens stadium in forced the end of the semi-final match between India and Sri Lanka during the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Fans started rioting when the home team, seemingly on the way to victory, underwent a dramatic batting collapse. Match referee Clive Lloyd brought the teams off the ground for their safety, then attempted to restart the match. When the fans remained throwing projectiles and damaging stadium facilities, the match was called off and awarded to Sri Lanka (who went on to win the World Cup).
Calcutta
In 1996 during a night match at Waverley Park in Melbourne between Essendon and St Kilda, a pitch invasion occurred when the lights went out during the third quarter. Initially, a serious car crash into power lines in the nearby area was reported to have caused the blackout, although it was later confirmed to be a major electrical fault. In the midst of the chaos, fans rioted and stormed the ground, some lighting bonfires in the centre square, and removing two of the behind posts. The incidents were filmed on Network Seven, and the remaining quarter and a half was played three nights later.[14]
Australian Football League
In 1998, fans rioted in the streets of Denver after their team won Super Bowl XXXII. Near-riots happened when the team won the Super Bowl again the following year and after the Colorado Avalanche's Stanley Cup wins in 1996 and 2001.
Denver Broncos
A similar incident occurred in in 2003 when fans rioted and destroyed property after the Oakland Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Oakland, California
In July 2000, 13 people were trampled to death in a riot at a qualifying match in Harare, Zimbabwe after South Africa took a 2–0 lead over Zimbabwe.
2002 FIFA World Cup
In June 2000, fans stormed the streets of Los Angeles after the Lakers' victory over the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals. Fans briefly celebrated by starting bonfires, but it soon turned into a riot, with fans dancing and stomping on parked cars, and even turning a news van over.[15]
Los Angeles Lakers
In May 2001 during an Australian Football League match between and Carlton at Optus Oval, Geelong's Darren Milburn executed a very late and illegal bump on Carlton's Steven Silvagni, collecting Silvagni's head with his hip, knocking Silvagni unconscious and leaving him having to be carried from the field by trainers. Milburn then proceeded to clap towards the crowd after being substituted, further igniting the situation; Carlton fans threatened Milburn, attempted to enter the interchange box to assault him, and attempted to attack Milburn's police escort in the car park after the match.[16] Milburn was suspended for three matches for the incident.
Geelong
In May 2004 after an Friday Night Football match between Adelaide and St Kilda at AAMI Stadium which St Kilda won by 32 points, field umpires were booed and abused by Adelaide fans, and a drink bottle was thrown which hit a 12-year-old St Kilda fan. One fan was ejected and banned for one year from the arena.[17]
Australian Football League
In September 2004 in the Grand Final between the North Cairns Tigers and the Port Douglas Crocs at Cazaly's Stadium, a wild and violent 15 minute bench-clearing brawl erupted after Tigers players charged at the Crocs pre-match huddle at the end of the national anthem, and escalated when fans and team officials became involved. One fan was arrested and another five were ejected, while three Crocs players and a Crocs runner were left unconscious and having to be carried from the arena on stretchers. After a lengthy AFL investigation, the instigator, North Cairns Tigers coach and former VFL/AFL player Jason Love, was suspended for eight years, and the 22 North Cairns players were suspended for a total of 400 matches (suspensions ranging from 10 matches to five years) on a string of charges in relation to starting the brawl; the Tigers were forced to forfeit their first match of 2005 as a result of these suspensions. AFL Cairns declared the Grand Final a "no result" and withheld the 2004 premiership.[18][19][20]
Cairns Australian Football League
In October 2004, after the Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in Game 7 of the , Red Sox fans rioted near Fenway Park in Boston. Police used "pepper guns" in some cases, and an Emerson College student, Victoria Snelgrove, was killed by a paintball-like projectile that hit her in the eye.
American League Championship Series
On November 19, 2004, near the end of an game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, a brawl erupted between Pacers players and Pistons supporters.
NBA
On April 12, 2005, the quarterfinal between intracity rivals A.C. Milan and Inter Milan was abandoned after Inter fans threw missiles and flares on to the pitch at the San Siro stadium, with A.C. Milan goalkeeper Dida hit by a flare.
UEFA Champions League
In May 2006 during an match between North Melbourne and St Kilda, a North Melbourne fan had a provocative confrontation with coach Dean Laidley, to which Laidley responded with a verbal barrage, inviting the fan to the club rooms to see how badly the players were feeling due to their consistently poor on-field performance. The incident was captured on Australian national television. The fan committed suicide by throwing himself in the path of an oncoming train the next morning.
Australian Football League
On June 6, 2010, the final game of the finals between ancient rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos (PAO), also respectively known as the "Reds" and "Greens" from their club colors, degenerated into what one commentator called a "night of shame" for Greek basketball.[21] Panathinaikos entered the game, held at Olympiacos' home of Peace and Friendship Stadium, with a 2–1 lead in the best-of-5 series. The homestanding Reds fans were reportedly incensed at what they considered to be biased officiating in the Greens' favor in Game 3. The violence began even before tipoff, with police forced to use tear gas on rioting Reds fans; the game started 40 minutes late.[22] In the third quarter, with PAO leading 50–42, the game was halted for about an hour after Olympiacos fans threw various incendiaries at the PAO bench, with one smoke bomb exploding next to the bench.[21] By the time the teams resumed play, all but about 2,000 fans had left.[22] Then, with little over a minute left in the game and PAO ahead 76–69, many of the remaining Reds fans began throwing objects on the court, leading the officials to suspend play and forfeit the game to PAO, giving the Greens the title.[22] The new champions had to be escorted off the floor by riot police.[21] The league organizer, HEBA, fined Olympiacos €111,000 and required them to play their first nine home games of the 2010–11 season behind closed doors and without live TV coverage.[23]
Greek Basket League
The next meeting between the two teams, this time hosted by Panathinaikos on January 12, 2011, saw Olympiacos win 65–61, followed by a rain of incendiaries from Greens fans at the Reds.
[24]
In a game on November 1, 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs led the Oakland Raiders 17–14, and a long run for a first-down run by quarterback Len Dawson apparently sealed victory for the Chiefs in the final minute when Dawson was speared by Raiders defensive end Ben Davidson, who dove into Dawson with his helmet as he lay on the ground, provoking Chiefs’ receiver Otis Taylor to attack Davidson. After a bench-clearing brawl, Taylor and Davidson were ejected, and the penalties that were called nullified the first down under the rules in effect at that time. The Chiefs were obliged to punt, and the Raiders tied the game on a George Blanda field goal with eight seconds to play. Taylor's unwise retaliation against Davidson's foul play not only cost the Chiefs a win, but Oakland won the AFC West with a season record of 8–4–2, while Kansas City finished 7–5–2 and out of the playoffs.[43] See also Chiefs–Raiders rivalry.
National Football League
Bernstein, Ross (2006). . Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-57243-756-2.
The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL
NCAA (2004). (PDF). NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
"2004 NCAA Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations"
Atyeo, Don (1979) Blood & Guts: Violence in Sports, Paddington Press, 0-79-092-0000-5
Coakley, Jay (2009). "Violence in Sports". (PDF). McGraw-Hill. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2013.