Violence in sports usually refers to violent and often unnecessarily harmful intentional physical acts committed during, or motivated by, a sports game , often in relation to contact sports such as American football , ice hockey , rugby football , lacrosse , association football , boxing , mixed martial arts , wrestling , and water polo and, when referring to the players themselves, often involving excessively violent or potentially illegal physical contact beyond the normal levels of contact expected while playing the sport. These acts of violence can include intentional attempts to injure a player or coach by another player or coach, but can also include threats of physical harm or actual physical harm sustained by players or coaches by fans or those engaging in the spectating of sports, or threats and acts of violence performed by fans or spectators upon opposing fans or other spectators.
29-458: The Johnny Bright incident was a violent on-field assault against African-American player Johnny Bright by Wilbanks Smith, a white opposing player during an American college football game held on October 20, 1951, in Stillwater, Oklahoma . The game was significant in itself as it marked the first time that an African-American athlete with a national profile and of critical importance to
58-484: A halfback and quarterback in the game between the Drake Bulldogs and Oklahoma A&M Cowboys on October 20, 1951, at Lewis Field was controversial even before it began. Bright had been the first African-American football player to play at Lewis Field two years prior without incident. In 1951, Bright was a pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate and led the nation in total offense. Bright had never played for
87-477: A few plays later. Soon afterward, the injury forced him to leave the game. Subsequent X-rays confirmed his jaw had been broken. Bright finished the game with less than 100 yards, the first time in his three-year collegiate career. Oklahoma A&M eventually won 27–14. Bob Spiegel, a reporter with the Des Moines Tribune , interviewed several spectators after the game, eventually publishing a report on
116-507: A group of Oklahoma A&M practice squad players. At the beginning of the game, one of the players turned around and said, "We're gonna get that nigger." After the first blow to Bright was delivered by Smith, the same player again turned around and told the businessman, "See that knot on my jaw? That same guy gave me that the very same way in practice." A six-photograph sequence of the incident captured by Des Moines Register cameraman John Robinson clearly showed Smith's first, jaw-breaking blow
145-480: A letter to Drake President David Maxwell formally apologizing for the incident. The apology came 22 years after Bright's death. Schmidly, reiterating a conversation earlier in the month over the phone, called the team's behavior that day "an ugly mark on Oklahoma State University and college football". Violence in sports There are two major theories on the cause of violence in sports. One theory holds that humans have an instinct for violence, developed during
174-479: A losing team in his college career. Coming into the contest, Drake carried a five-game winning streak, owing much to Bright's rushing and passing abilities. It was an open secret that Oklahoma A&M players were targeting Bright. Both Oklahoma A&M's student newspaper, The Daily O'Collegian , and the local newspaper, The News Press , reported that Bright was a marked man, and several A&M students were openly claiming that Bright "would not be around at
203-476: A strategy developed by coaches or players. In boxing, unruly or extremely violent behavior by one of the contestants often results in the fighter breaking the rules being penalized with a points reduction, or, in extreme cases, disqualification. Outlawed tactics in boxing include hitting the opponent on the back of the head, under the belly during clinching, and to the back. Other tactics that are outlawed, but less seen, are pushing an opponent with forceful intent to
232-576: A time when early human ancestors had to resort to violence and aggressiveness to survive and reproduce. Another theory deals with the sociological aspects of violence in sports, stating that sports are "mock battles" which can become actual battles due to their competitive nature. Through a "civilizing process", many modern sports have become less tolerant of bloodshed than past versions, although many violent aspects of these sports still remain. Athletes sometimes resort to violence, in hopes of injuring and intimidating opponents. Such incidents may be part of
261-687: A variety of penalties on players who engage in fights. Unique to North American professional team sports, the National Hockey League (NHL) and most minor professional leagues in North America do not eject players outright for fighting but major European and collegiate hockey leagues do. The debate over allowing fighting in ice hockey games is ongoing. Despite its potentially negative consequences, such as heavier enforcers (or "heavyweights") knocking each other out, some administrators are not considering eliminating fighting from
290-530: Is often alcohol -related. Violence by supporters of sports teams dates back to Roman times, when supporters of chariot racing teams were frequently involved in major riots, leading Roman authorities to frequently cancel sporting events. Usually, underlying political and/or theological issues helped fuel riots related to sporting events in the Roman era. The Nika riots of 532 were especially deadly, with tens of thousands reportedly killed. In periods when theatre
319-422: Is that, whatever a person's bias and limitation, they deserve respect. Everyone's entitled to their own beliefs." Wilbanks Smith received over 1,000 letters regarding the incident. Most of the mail was hate mail or death threats, but some were congratulatory and thankful. Smith maintained that he was not racist, the hit was "not a racial incident," and that he had landed "the same hit" on a white player earlier in
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#1732790349540348-601: The Canadian Football League , retiring in 1964 as the CFL's all-time leading rusher, and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1970. Recalling the incident without apparent bitterness in a 1980 Des Moines Register interview three years before his death , Bright commented: "There's no way it couldn't have been racially motivated." Bright went on to add: "What I like about
377-666: The Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. Although the level of football-related violence was significantly reduced in England after this event, in the Euro 2004 tournament, England was publicly warned that any violence by supporters at matches could result in their ejection from the tournament. Many known hooligans were prevented from traveling to the tournament in Portugal. There was a collective sigh of relief from security experts in
406-575: The USA when England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup . Alan Rothenberg (chairman of the World Cup organizing committee in the United States in 1994) said: There were three countries in the world whose presence would have created logistical and security problems, so we're very pleased they won't be coming: Iraq, Iran and England. Violence has been a part of ice hockey since at least
435-450: The early 1900s. According to the book Hockey: A People's History , in 1904 alone, four players were killed during hockey games from the frequent brawls and violent stickwork. Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. While officials tolerate fighting during hockey games, they impose
464-506: The end of the game". Although Oklahoma A&M had integrated in 1949, the Jim Crow spirit was still very much alive on campus. During the first seven minutes of the game, Bright was knocked unconscious three times by blows from Oklahoma A&M defensive tackle Wilbanks Smith. Bright later reported that Smith's first punch broke his jaw. Despite that, he was still able to complete a 61-yard touchdown pass to Drake halfback Jim Pilkington
493-796: The floor or ground, kicking, or hitting repeatedly after the round has ended. Similar actions have also happened in ice hockey and Australian Football League matches. High school, college, and even professional sports teams often include initiation ceremonies (known as hazing in the USA) as a rite of passage . A 1999 study by Alfred University and the NCAA found that approximately four out of five college US athletes (250,000 per year) experienced hazing. Half were required to take part in alcohol-related initiations, while two-thirds were subjected to humiliation rituals. Violence may also be related to nationalism or as an outlet for underlying social tensions . It
522-617: The game, as some players consider it essential. Additionally, the majority of fans oppose eliminating fights from professional hockey games. Pulitzer Prize for Photography The Pulitzer Prize for Photography was one of the American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It was inaugurated in 1942 and replaced by two photojournalism prizes in 1968: the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography and "Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography", which
551-436: The game. He never apologized for the incident, but said in 2012 that he was glad the incident had helped to integrate college football, saying "It took me a long time before I could smile about it. But now I can. I think it was a tool [Civil Rights'] organizations used, and it was very effective." Smith died on January 14, 2020, at the age of 89. On September 28, 2005, Oklahoma State University President David J. Schmidly wrote
580-611: The incident in the October 30, 1951, issue of the newspaper. According to Spiegel's report, several of the Oklahoma A&;M students he interviewed overheard an Oklahoma A&M coach repeatedly say "Get that nigger " whenever the A&;M practice squad ran Drake plays against the Oklahoma A&M starting defense prior to the October 20 game. Spiegel also recounted the experiences of a businessman and his wife, who were seated behind
609-494: The incident took place when it did; they had only planned to stay through the first quarter so they could have enough time to develop the pictures before the newspaper's publication deadline. Robinson and Ultang's photographs won the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Photography , and eventually made it into the November 5, 1951, issue of Life . Oklahoma A&M's president, Oliver Willham, denied anything happened even after evidence of
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#1732790349540638-416: The incident was published nationwide. This began a cover-up that would last over half a century; during that time, whenever the story was discussed, the standard response from A&M/OSU was "no comment". The determination to gloss over the affair was so strong that when Robert B. Kamm succeeded Willham in 1966, he knew that he could not even discuss the matter even though he had been Drake's dean of men at
667-520: The league in solidarity with Drake and did not return for non-football sports until 1955; its football team never played another down in the MVC. (Bradley dropped football in 1970.) The incident eventually provoked changes in NCAA football rules regarding illegal blocking, and mandated the use of more protective helmets with face guards. Bright's broken jaw limited his effectiveness for the remainder of his senior season at Drake , but he earned 70 percent of
696-409: The success of his team, the Drake Bulldogs , had played against Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University ) at Oklahoma A&M's Lewis Field . Bright's injury also highlighted the racial tensions of the times and assumed notoriety when it was captured in what was later to become both a widely disseminated and eventually Pulitzer Prize –winning photo sequence. Bright's participation as
725-515: The time of the incident. When it became apparent that neither Oklahoma A&M nor the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), to which both Drake and Oklahoma A&M belonged, would take any disciplinary action against Smith, Drake withdrew from the MVC in protest. The Bulldogs did not return to the MVC until 1956 for non-football sports, and did not return for football until 1971. Fellow member Bradley University pulled out of
754-459: The whole deal now, and what I'm smug enough to say, is that getting a broken jaw has somehow made college athletics better. It made the NCAA take a hard look and clean up some things that were bad." When asked about Smith, whom he had not seen since the incident, Bright said he felt "null and void" about Smith, but added: "The thing has been a great influence on my life. My total philosophy of life now
783-512: The yards the Bulldogs gained and scored 70 percent of the team's points, despite missing the better part of the final three games of the season. Bright finished fifth in the balloting for the 1951 Heisman Trophy , and played in the post-season East–West Shrine Game and the Hula Bowl . Following his 1952 graduation from Drake, Bright went on to enjoy a 12-year professional football career in
812-525: Was considered a form of mass entertainment, there were phenomena of rival fans supporting rival actors or theatrical teams, occasionally leading to violent outbursts having many similarities to present-day violence of sports fans – the Astor Place Riot in 1849 New York City being a conspicuous example. The actions of English football hooligans and firms in the 1980s caused English teams to be banned from European competition for six years after
841-416: Was thrown well after Bright had handed the ball off to Drake fullback Gene Macomber and was well behind the play. Robinson and Don Ultang had set up cameras to focus on Bright before the game after the rumors of his targeting became too loud to ignore. They rushed the film to Des Moines as soon as Bright was knocked out of the game several plays later. Ultang said years later that they were very lucky that
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