The Bridge to Violence: Does Contact Sport Promote Violence Outside of the Game?
Dylan Cartier
PEDS 401: Applied Ethics in Physical Education and Sport
Judy Davidson
March 2nd, 2015

When athletes compete in a contact sport, everyone involved is aware that the contact could create more aggression and competition to those involved. Each player assumes the risks involved, incorporates physical play into their game, and uses those means necessary to gain advantages or in the end, win the game at hand. The age old question is; do contact sports increase the aggressiveness of athletes to the point that the aggression translates through into society itself? Thesis: During sport that demands physical contact, there are athletes who are predisposed to violent behaviour, athletes held accountable by their actions on and off the playing field and athletes which use physical dominance to gain an advantage, I do not believe violence in sports promotes violence outside of the game.
The ethical dilemma involved here is that people believe that contact sports promote violence outside of sport. This is ethically significant because certain athletes’ prudence and safety may be compromised after participating in such sports. This is ethically significant because we must allow for the choice of free will amongst athletes, even if they choose to assume all risks that come along with physically combative sports. However, someone may use this aggression outside of sport and could sacrifice their self-interest by being more aggressive, this in turn dawns the question, does violence in sport shape our morals and values of aggression outside of the sporting context?
Firstly, there are always the people who are more predisposed to violent and aggressive behaviour, therefore, just as the opposite there are athletes that only play within the rules of contact sport and leave it on their