Contact Sports should NOT be banned.
Contact Sports should NOT be banned.
By Jarryd O’Keefe
This article will argue the key points as to why contact sports should not be banned and highlight the important qualities they provide. It will outline the many physical and health benefits they can provide using martial arts as an example. It will also highlight the importance of freedom of choice by discussing the ban on a popular combative sport and the ramifications of that ban. The article will also outline the many financial benefits contact sports bring to local communities as well as positive community interaction. Finally it will refute the argument for banning contact sports due to the risk of serious injuries. Contact sports should not be banned, as they are an important contributor to society, as this article will outline.
First and foremost, contact sports provide a healthy, controlled, physical outlet for aggression and can improve mental health. Martial arts are probably the best example of this. Bruce Lee (1997) identified that martial arts provide its practitioners with individual improvements in the following three areas: health promotion, cultivation of mind and self-protection. Wong Kiew Kit (1996) further added other key areas including character training, mind expansion and spiritual development. It has also been acknowledged that martial arts can instil a system of moral values including respect, faithfulness, sincerity (Weiser et al, 1995), patience, insight and calmness among others (Wong, 1981). Improvements in self-esteem, emotional stability, assertiveness and reductions in anxiety and depression have also been linked with martial arts training (Macarie & Roberts 2010, ¶ 2). Konzak and Boudreau (1984) have also recognized the social benefits of such behavioural change specifically the correlation between martial arts training and aggression. Wisdom suggests that after regular training individuals become less impulsive and aggressive towards others (Macarie & Roberts 2010, ¶ 3). A study on the effectiveness of reducing aggression through martial arts training by Zivin (et al 2001) paired sixty problematic schoolboys in two groups. The first group participated in martial arts training. The teachers assessed the schoolboys on impulsiveness, resistance to rules, self-concept and inappropriate behaviour. The study found after three months of training, all the students in the first group had improved their behaviour in class and the only exceptions since the beginning of the study (six in total) occurred in the second group. The teachers evaluated the martial arts students as less impulsive and less aggressive towards others. It is clear that martial arts as an example of contact sports is in fact a positive outlet for aggression and decreases its likelihood as well as improving physical and mental health.
People should have the freedom to partake in any sport they choose. If you take away controlled sanctioned sports and people’s freedom of choice history reveals that humanity will protest and revolt. If you were to completely ban combative sports for example, such as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), which is featured in the popular organization Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) that was banned in the Australian state of Victoria up until early 2015 (Savage 2015, ¶ 1), you would find many illegal unsanctioned and uncontrolled underground events would appear. During the time the UFC was banned in Victoria illegal underground MMA fights were taking place in makeshift rings surrounded by wire fencing, attracting big crowds at secret locations (Butler 2013, ¶ 2). The Sunday Herald Sun (2013) revealed that the state Australian Labor Party (ALP) had changed its policy and wanted cage fighting to be legalized to ensure doctors and referees were present. Labor’s spokesman on sports John Eren said the ALP changed its policy out of concern that banning cage fighting was forcing it underground (Butler 2013, ¶ 30). As outlined in this example banning contact sports does not make the world a safer place. Instead it forces people to take greater risks with their lives and health by pursuing their passions in uncontrolled and unsafe environments. Contact sports should be kept legal to maintain safe and controlled environments and for practitioners to have the freedom to showcase there skills legally.
Contact sports are some of the most popular sports in the world and bring enormous revenue to their local communities as well as positive community interaction. Australia’s national sport Australian Football League (AFL) achieved revenue of four hundred and fifty eight million dollars in 2014 with just under half of that being distributed back into the eighteen clubs and community projects. Over eight hundred thousand AFL fans signed up for club memberships and total crowd attendances were recorded at over six million four hundred thousand in 2014. The AFL is also a proud supporter of numerous charity organizations most notably in 2014 they hosted an event for Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) where over twelve thousand people participated and the event successfully raised five hundred thousand dollars to support the work of BCNA (Australian Football League 2014). Furthermore Americas National Football League (NFL) has the world’s highest annual revenue of any sport contact or not at a reported nine and a half billion US dollars per year. It is considered a non-profit organization as it funnels the majority of the money back into the thirty-two teams that make up the league (Chemi 2014, ¶ 1). The NFL averages over seventeen million in total attendance to their games every year at an average of around sixty eight thousand per game (Statista 2015, ¶ 1). The NFL are also involved in numerous charity organizations including the National Football League Foundation (NFL Foundation) which is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of sports and the communities. The NFL Foundation has contributed over three hundred and sixty eight million dollars to communities and impacted the lives of over three million individuals (National Football League Foundation 2011, p. 1). Additionally Manny Pacquiao a professional boxer from the Philippines had a famous fight with undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather in 2015, which was dubbed “The fight of the century”. Pacquiao who lost the fight reportedly earned eighty million pounds for the fight and donated half of it to charities (Williams 2015, ¶ 1). The event itself is expected to have generated in excess of five hundred million dollars (Davies 2015, ¶ 3). As discussed contact sports are a pillar in communities and a legitimate revenue raiser that contributes greatly to charities and communities, as well as employing millions of people around the world. If you take away controlled sanctioned sporting events it will drastically impact on communities welfare.
A popular argument for the banning of contact sports is the risk of serious injury. Organization such as the Brain Injury Network have called for the elimination of contact sports, stating that they’re too dangerous and can lead to severe brain injuries. Medical studies are sounding an alarm about the perils of concussion and brain injury particularly in contact sports such as football, rugby, and boxing. There are studies that show the potentiality for long-term and even lifelong detrimental effects from concussions in contact sports (Brain Injury Network 2013, ¶ 1-4). Serious injury, even death are real possibilities in any sport contact or not, take cricket, a non-contact sport as an example. In November 2014 young Australian cricketer Philip Hughes was struck by a cricket ball in the back of the neck in a professional state match in Australia. Hughes never regained consciousness following his injury and died as a result of the “freak” accident (Phillip Hughes: Australian batsman dies, aged 25 2014 ¶ 5, 12, 17). Another example is the death of Italian soccer player Piermario Morosini who died in May 2014 after suffering cardiac arrest and collapsing on the pitch during a professional soccer match in Italy (Piermario Morosini dies after collapse 2014, ¶ 1). In fact when it comes to injuries sustained from sport resulting in hospitalisation, the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare (2014) 2011-12 statistics outline the fact that only 13.4% of such injuries are due to involvement in contact sports including Australia’s two most popular sports AFL and rugby. The other 86.6% of injuries are a result of non contact sports such as soccer, cycling and basketball. When the amount of participants is accounted for, motor sports, such as motorcycling, are the riskiest with three thousand five hundred hospitalisations per one hundred thousand participants. Next were roller sports, such as skateboarding, with two thousand hospitalisations per one hundred thousand participants. Compared to AFL and rugby, which had thirteen hundred and twelve hundred hospitalisations per one hundred thousand participants respectively (Johnson 2014, ¶ 7-9). Combative sports including martial arts and boxing had only one hundred and sixty eight hospitalisations per one hundred thousand participants (Australian Institute of Health & Welfare 2014). As outlined by these statistics serious injuries are more dominant in non contact sports. Therefore people should have the freedom to partake in any sport they choose, so long as they’re willing to accept the fact that serious injury, even death is a very real possibility in any sport whether its a contact sport or not.
In conclusion, Contact sports should not be banned because of the important qualities they provide. They are an important contributor to society as discussed in this article. They provide a healthy, controlled, physical outlet for aggression and can improve mental health as outlined with the use of martial arts as an example. They should be kept legal to maintain safe and controlled environments for athletes to showcase their skills legally as discussed in the UFC ban in Victoria scenario. Contact sports such as AFL, NFL and boxing are some of the most popular sports in the world and bring enormous revenue to their local communities as well as contributing greatly to charities. Serious injuries are a legitimate risk in contact sports but as the statistics outlined in this article show serious injuries resulting in hospitalization are more dominant in non contact sports, therefore banning contact sports will not significantly lessen the effects of serious injuries in sport. Contact sports are here too stay and are an important and significant contributor to society. They deserve your cheers not your jeers for the positive impact they have on communities and individuals from amateur leagues to professional leagues all across the globe.
About the Author:
Jarryd O’Keefe is a mixed martial artist specializing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and Jeet Kune Do. He previously studied Karate when he worked as a Self-defense consultant for Go-Kan-Ru Karate International in 2010. Jarryd graduated with honors in L&L (literacy) from T.A.F.E. Brisbane. He is currently a full time university student studying screen and media production at SAE creative media institute in Brisbane, Australia.
References:
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