By Tyler Vanderelst |Staff Writer|
In sports, there are many instances of violence happening on and off the field. Violence happens in every sport, however, some of the most known instances happen in football.
Football is known to be one of the most violent sports. Players in this sport are running around and hitting each other to protect their teammates and keep their opponents from scoring.
In football, there are plenty of instances where two or more players get into a physical altercation on the field. This normally happens when a player feels an opponent wronged him or one of his teammates.
One of the more memorable fights happened in 2010 when Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan got into a fight in the middle of a play.
The two had been going at it all day, and the play before the fight Johnson pushed Finnegan causing his helmet to come off.
The next play the two were pushing each other and pulling each other’s helmets off before throwing a few punches at each other.
Because tensions run high in a very physical sport like football, many interactions end with other teammates involved so they can protect their teammate.
With the case above, almost every player from both teams started pushing and shoving each other as well.
Some people enjoy watching the action of a fight while others think it takes away from the game itself.
“I personally like when a little fight happens,” said fan Willy Hicks. “Because it shows the intensity the players have and how bad they want to win.”
Sadly, there are plenty of instances of football players acting out violently in their homes or in public.
One story that some may remember is when ex-Ravens running back Ray Rice punched his former fiancée in an elevator, knocking her out cold. The video was released on the Internet and caused an uproar in the media and the public.
This was just one instance of many that became associated with the NFL. To display their intolerance of domestic violence, Rice was removed from the league.
“I think the NFL made the right call by kicking Rice out of the league, because they do not want to be known for domestic violence anymore,” said fan Michael Castonguay.
There are instances in almost every sport of players getting into fights. Even sports like NASCAR have times when two racers get into fights because they feel like another driver wronged them.
Also in baseball, from players get into fights that sometimes clear the team’s benches.
In most cases in baseball fights occur because a pitch thrown by the pitcher hit the batter. The batter will rush the mound to fight the pitcher and this normally causes teammates to get involved as well.
But in one case last year, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista and Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor got into a fight on the bases.
Bautista was running to second base, sliding in to try and prevent a double play, which Odor did not like. When Bautista got up, Odor pushed him back and punched him in the face, knocking Bautista back to the ground.
Fans sometimes look forward to the on-field scuffles as they are few and far in between, but just because they like them, doesn’t mean it’s right for the players to participate.
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