http://espn.go.com/otl/hazing/list.html
The article gives many, many examples of sports hazing over the years. They range from milder initations to extreme induction rites. In every case, police and court authorities became involved.
I thought they were all very interesting occurences, and some of them were absolutely wild. I believe that sometimes people go to far with their 'traditional rituals,' including performing crude sex-related acts and causing bodily harm to themselves. It seems like the seniors are taking revenge on their previous 'alphas' on their younger mates, maybe even making it worse and worse.
Should police get involved in these hazing rituals? Or do the initiatee's hold the power to keep these things from happening to them? Is it impossible to say no?
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These sports hazing incidents involve peer pressure. The veterans will say "it's voluntary, rookie. You don't have to do it - feel free to leave now. Of course, if you don't take part - like every one of us has in the past - we may mention to the coach that you don't fit it. You may find some of your equipment missing before the next practice. Nobody will pass the ball to you. You'll have to expect a few hard charges. We want you to be part of our team, but feel free to leave."
ReplyDeleteThe rookie will stay, afraid to kiss off his sports dreams of the past 12 years.
I agree, it is peer pressure. But sometimes it just goes too far, and the athlete is put between a rock and a hard place. I think that some sort of restriction or implication of rules should be placed to protect the 'inferior' athletes. This may make some of the older athletes angry, but shouldn't it be just? They're basically performing a mutual torture event that should not be allowed.
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