Why Is Hazing Wrong

785 Words2 Pages

The Hazing Prohibition Act of 2003, hazing is defined as “any assumption of authority by a student whereby another student suffers or is exposed to any cruelty, intimidation, humiliation, embarrassment, hardship, or oppression, or is required to perform exercises to excess, to become sleep deprived, to commit dangerous activities, to curry favor from those in power, to submit to physical assaults, to consume offensive foods or alcohol, or the threat of bodily harm or death, or the deprivation or abridgement of any right” (Schneider, 2009, p. 194). Hazing has become a serious issue on college campuses in the last 20 years, not only in the athletic department but in fraternities and sororities as well. The justification for hazing by whoever …show more content…

Sports are an arena that can help with moral development, both by imitation and initiation (Austin, 2010). With no one standing up and saying that this hazing is wrong, the hazing will keep going and new players will imitate what was done to them when they become upperclassmen. “Change comes with a change in culture – what is acceptable and what is not acceptable – on a team. Those dynamics are set in place by the athletic director, the coaches and university administrators,” said hazing expert David Westol of Limberlost Consulting Inc (Nuwer, 2014). Therefore, if hazing is going to stop, the adults in charge have to step up and change the culture of their …show more content…

While athletes may say the hazing is used to build team unity and show that new athletes want to be a part of the team, there is no proof of this being the case. When a team starts performing an initiation ritual, it may start out innocent and harmless but over the years it will turn into something that could be dangerous. Players can add to the ritual once they are in charge to make it more difficult or more entertaining until it reaches the point of the situation Julie was forced into. Being the first person to complete a scavenger hunt or the first person to drive 30 minutes to Taco Bell and back with food for a returning player will not make you a better teammate or show that you can be counted on when the game is on the line. The only thing it can do is possibly put your life in danger or risk injury. It is the job of coaches and administrators to make sure athletes understand the seriousness of

More about Why Is Hazing Wrong

Open Document