Quote:
Originally Posted by lukasberger
I'm dubious about those rankings. I take it you don't watch soccer much? No way baseball is more violent and it's really hard to make a case that basketball is either.
As to the top of the list, I don't see any way MMA or boxing isn't on top. I know wikipedia isn't a good source but it does have this to say.
"Because of the young age of the sport and the small number of fatalities to date, little statistical inference can be drawn. A 2006 study suggests that the risk of injury in general in MMA is comparable to that in professional boxing. [1] For professional boxing matches, the Manuel Velazquez Boxing Fatality Collection lists 923 deaths during the 118 year period of 1890-2007."
There've been a few American football deaths but except for one death in the arena league from contact, all have come from heart issues or heatstroke or something other than the violence inherent in the sport.
Pro football players just don't die on the field or in the arena from getting hit. MMA fighters and boxers do, frequently.
I'd say MMA > Boxing > American Football > Hockey > Rugby > European Football > Basketball > Baseball > Cricket. |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Déjà Bru
I take a different viewpoint from these other guys.
Boxing and MMA are the only sports in which the competition demands, and rules allow for, physical harm to be done to your opponent in order to win. These are the ONLY essentially violent sports, therefore. (And they should be banned, IMO, but that's for another thread someday).
Hockey, to answer your question, is not inherently a violent sport. The rules of hockey do not call for harming your opponent in order to win.
HOWEVER, to the extent that bad behavior like excessive checking and high sticking are treated with slaps on the wrist (in the form of mere penalty minutes), then hockey becomes violent. When fighting is permitted (yes, permitted if not tacitly encouraged) as part of the game and allowed to be part of its appeal and excitement, then hockey becomes violent. When goons are recruited and retained as players who really aren't that good at playing hockey but are very good as "enforcers," then hockey becomes violent.
Hockey, the game, is not a violent sport. Hockey, the spectator extravaganza, is indeed violent.
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Violence by definition is defined by acts of aggression, which most sports contain in some level, so to state only MMA and Boxing are the violent ones is flat out wrong by definition.
American Football rewards violence. Basketball rewards violence. The level of which we define it is subjective, but it's violence none the less.
The reason I put American Football at the top of the list is easy. It's a game that includes the most severe injuries at a frequent level. Every play involves collisions, hitting, pushing, shoving, tackling, and cheap plays. It's a game of violence and it's the reason why America loves it. It being on top of the list is a no brainer.
Boxing is #2 because it's a sport that essentially revolves around hitting each other in the head for 12 rounds. Sure there are body shots but for the most part boxers are going after the head.
MMA is deceivingly less violent than boxing. Although the highlight reels are better, the fights are shorter (Fights get stopped much quicker in MMA and less rounds) and there is a far larger variant in the way people compete. Although there is a lot of straight up boxing, there is also martial arts, wrestling, judo, etc.
I'm willing to concede that European Football is more violent than it appears, however it still stays at the bottom of my list, unless someone can point out 'plays' that are as violent as a home plate collision or being hit by a 100 MPH fast ball. I don't watch a lot of soccer, but from what I've watched I don't see an equivalent which puts it at the bottom of my list.