Literature Review of Hazing in Sports

Paper Summary:

Hazing has been described as a humiliating act or initiation one must take part in in order to be accepted into a sports group or team. This paper shows how hazing is increasingly becoming problematic for society. Its supporters extol the virtues of the practice by focusing on its ability to build character and a strong bond between team veterans and rookies and opponents of the practice justifiably proclaim the practice's elements of barbarism and sadism. The paper compares the two perspectives regarding the merits of hazing. It discusses, too, the literature which has been written about this practice and examines the different points of view proffered by the many analysts on this particular subject. The author of the paper surmises that only in investigating the pros and cons of these initiation rites can we understand how entrenched this problem has become in the minds of the people who continue to conduct this barbaric practice.

From the Paper:

"There has been a lot of literature in the past that has addressed the problem of hazing in athletics. Most of the research agrees that there is a consistency in the arguments for hazing. One popular opinion is that older team members haze younger team member potentials in order to assert their leadership. However, hazing does not have to be the vehicle to assert this authority. In fact, the most obvious method of displaying leadership is on the playing field as opposed to shaving a member s hair off. Another common argument for hazing is that it instils fear and respect in the hearts of younger members when interacting with their more esteemed and older teammates. However, isn t it more important to create a bond between teammates and instil that fear and awe in the opposing team? Also, respect should be earned, not demanded."

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