With the World Cup in full swing, it’s a good time to take a look at the darker side of the beautiful game: crime in sports.
While most athletes are upstanding citizens, there have been plenty of cases of criminal activity in the world of professional sports. From match-fixing and bribery to assault and murder, here are some of the most shocking examples of crime in sports.
In 2011, Italian footballers Gennaro Gattuso and Marco Materazzi were both given two-year bans from football after being found guilty of match-fixing. The players were accused of deliberately trying to lose a match against Sampdoria in order to secure a financial benefit for themselves.
In 2015, American football player Aaron Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Hernandez, who played for the New England Patriots, was found guilty of killing Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating his fiancee’s sister.
In 2016, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte was charged with making a false report after he claimed that he and three other American swimmers had been robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Olympics. Lochte later admitted that he had lied about the incident and was given a 10-month ban from swimming.
These are just a few examples of crime in sports. With so much money and fame at stake, it’s no wonder that some athletes resort to criminal activity in order to get ahead.
Many people have followed their favorite player or team since they were old enough to comprehend the games. Sports is an important part of people’s lives, whether they like it or not, and watching their son or daughter at high school, favorite collage, or professional player is one way to do it. Fans attend a game to see a group of individuals transform into a team; what happens when the team leaves the locker room is something else. Players who are larger and more muscular are more prone to violent crimes and drug addiction.
Sport has been linked to crime in many ways and this paper will explore some of those relations. The first way that sport and crime are related is the fact that most people who end up playing sports have come from a lower class or poverty stricken families.
Studies done by the National Institute of Justice states that, “the vast majority of serious and violent offenders have childhood and adolescence histories of problems including poor school performance, abuse or neglect, witnessing violence in the home, substance abuse, association with delinquents and gangs” (Wortley 3). So when looking at why athletes turn to crime it is important to look at their upbringing and home life. A lot of players come from nothing and see sports as their only way out, which can lead to a lot of illegal and violent behavior.
Sport is also a way for people to express themselves, which can lead to aggression on and off the field. Violence in sports usually happens in team sports such as football, hockey and basketball. This is because there are more people involved so it is harder to control everyone’s emotions and actions. When players are on the field they are trying to hit each other as hard as they can and when that spills over into real life it can be dangerous.
A recent example of this was the Ray Rice incident where he knocked out his fiancé in an elevator, this caused him to be suspended from the NFL. There have been many other examples of players being arrested for assault, domestic violence and even murder. Sport can also lead to drugs and alcohol abuse, which is another form of crime. Players use drugs to enhance their performance or to cope with the pain from injuries.
Steroids have been a big problem in sports for a long time and they are considered illegal. Drug testing has become more common in sport but players will always find ways to cheat the system. Alcohol is also a big problem, especially in team sports. Players party together and sometimes things can get out of hand, which can lead to fights or even drunk driving.
Sport has been linked to crime in many ways and it is important to be aware of these problems. Fans need to remember that athletes are human beings and they are not perfect. There will always be athletes who commit crimes but that does not mean that all of them are criminals. Sport is a big part of many peoples lives and it is important to enjoy it responsibly.
Two films have been created that depict a different narrative of sports. Blue Chips and Varsity Blues are two movies that show it from the perspective of the athletes. Blue Chips is an adaptation of a true event in which coaches were against purchasing players but eventually caved in after several losing seasons.
Alumni would buy the players’ families cars,houses, and farming equipment in order to entice them to play for their college. After that, the alumni would bet enormous sums of money on the games knowing they would win with their perfect team. In Varsity Blues, a local football team’s players may do anything they want because no one is watching.
The football players at this high school were considered the royalty. They would gamble, drink, and party with girls on a regular basis and never get in any trouble for it. The cops would protect them from anything because the football team brought in so much money to the town. Crime does pay, but just not always in the traditional sense. It usually only pays off for those who are already wealthy.
These stories show how crime can be linked to sports in different ways. In Blue Chips, the alumni were buying players so that they would win bets placed on the games. This is a form of cheating, as they were not playing fair. In Varsity Blues, the players were getting away with crimes because they were part of the football team. This shows how those in power can often get away with more than others.
While these movies show two different extremes, they both demonstrate how crime can be linked to sports. Whether it is cheating to win or getting away with crimes, there is always a dark side to sports. It is important to be aware of this so that you do not get caught up in the wrong crowd. If you see something illegal happening, report it so that justice can be served.
