Opinion: Football isn’t just violence. It’s democracy’s schoolhouse
1 day, 15 hours ago

Opinion: Football isn’t just violence. It’s democracy’s schoolhouse

LA Times  

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava is congratulated by UCLA offensive lineman Alani Makihele after the rivals’ game at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 23. Sadly, the shoves and punches on the football field reflect a broader trend surging across America: a CEO was gunned down in the street, reporters and media personalities face increasing threats, a presidential candidate was nearly assassinated. The football field — the baseball diamond, the basketball gym, the tennis court — is where millions of Americans learn discipline, respect for opponents and the value of coordinated action. When commentators say that football is irredeemable — “pure violence as entertainment,” said two sociologists in these pages — they aren’t saying the quiet part out loud, they’re forgetting the quiet part entirely: The intensity of sport belies a deeper communion, that we learn to respect each other and ourselves when we face off on the field.

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History of this topic

Letters to the Editor: Football is about brute force. Do your brain a favor and sit it out
1 week, 2 days ago

Letters to the Editor: Football is about brute force. Do your brain a favor and sit it out

LA Times  

Ohio State and Michigan football players get into a fight on the field in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 30. To the editor: Sociology professors Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva are correct about the hypocrisy of shaming college football players who get into brawls on the field. Margaret Hamilton, Portland, Ore.. To the editor: Thanks to The Times for again alerting …

Opinion: The hypocrisy of shaming college football player brawls
2 weeks, 2 days ago

Opinion: The hypocrisy of shaming college football player brawls

LA Times  

On Nov. 30, as the college football season reached its rivalry week climax, at least a half dozen games included heated brawls between the contestants. Media coverage of this incident, which focused on player behavior rather than the police response, widely indicted the incident’s ”ugliness.” Sporting News said an “ugly scene marred” the game, while CNN almost identically lamented how …

MAC commissioner calls for NCAA to crack down on ‘behavioral trainwreck’ in college sports after flag-planting brawls
2 weeks, 4 days ago

MAC commissioner calls for NCAA to crack down on ‘behavioral trainwreck’ in college sports after flag-planting brawls

CNN  

CNN — The Mid-American Conference commissioner wants the NCAA to crack down on what he calls “abysmal behavior” at college sports events, which he said has shown a “lack of respect for norms and traditions.” The letter, sent on Thursday from Jon A. Steinbrecher to NCAA president Charlie Baker and shared with CNN, argued that sportsmanship and ethical conduct are …

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