Discussion
NOTE: The work presented on this page was produced as part of a learning exercise. While the content was reviewed and controls were in place to improve accuracy and quality, it may contain gross inaccuracy or poor quality. The emphasis was on the learning process and the sharing of information. Furthermore, this content may still be under revision. For more information about the process, see About UniCommons.com. For more accurate subject content related to this work, see Subjects.
Comments
Violence in sports does happen. Unfortunately, there are some players who lose the true meaning of thier participation in a short fit of rage. However, I feel that most American sports do a great job of putting a damper on these types of activities before they start. The Ron Artest explosion has only opened the eyes of more refs and taught them how to avoid disaster.
When you think about it, baseball is probably the top sport in regards to players dealing with incidents that happen during games themselves. Nobody wants to get hit by a pitch or take a hard slide at one of the bases or even be suspended or fined. If one player is hit, everybody in the stadium and everyone watching the game on tv knows that an opposing player is going to get hit. If a middle infielder is on base and does a hard take-out slide at second base, you know that when the opportunity presents itself that that particular infielder is going to receive a hard take-out slide of his own. Since players don't want these types of things happening to them, the precautions they take not only with themselves, but with teammates is a form of policing actions on there own.
While other sports may have ways where the players police actions themselves, there really isn't any way to protect yourself against a 95 mph fastball especially when you are only standing 60 feet away. I think that umpires are there more to make sure it doesn't turn into a riot.