Physicality and sports have been synonymous with each other ever since the beginning. All sports leagues of various skill levels must straddle the fine line between what is acceptable within the game and what is pushing the limits. This is especially true for full contact sports, such as; American football, boxing, and ice hockey. Deliberately or incidentally, the physicality of the sport is an integral part of the game. These unique sports are in the crosshairs of the rules, regulations, and policies of the given sport and are at the mercy of civil laws as well. This brings up tort law, in which someone unfairly causes someone else to suffer loss or harm resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Within this paper, I will cover past, present, and potential future issues regarding tort law in the professional sports industry. This information is valuable because many people believe that sport administrators are powerless when it comes to these sorts of problems, and that the judicial system needs to intervene. If it is not up to the sport administrators running and working for these leagues then who is responsible for finding solutions to problems? Or making the game a safe and fun activity for future generations to enjoy? Furthermore, recent lawsuits surrounding head injuries in the National Football League (NFL) and the National Hockey League (NHL) have stem from the alleged negligence of the individuals leagues. These issues can potentially change the way we see and play American football and ice hockey forevermore. My particular research will examine the areas of law surrounding player v. player cases, specifically intentional tort law with criminal acts within professional sports. All too often ... ... middle of paper ... ...w.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=64063 Stephen J. Gulotta, Jr., Torts in Sports--Deterring Violence in Professional Athletics, 48 Fordham L. Rev. 764 (1980). Available at: http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol48/iss5/5 Tort. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/tort Tort Law. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://sportslaw.uslegal.com/tort-law/ What is an Intentional Tort? | Nolo.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-intentional-tort.html White, D. V. (1986). Sports violence as criminal assault: Development of the doctrine by Canadian courts. Duke Law Journal, 1030-1054. Why did NHL take 'targeting' out of Rule 48 illegal check to head penalty? (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/puck-daddy/why-did-nhl-targeting-rule-48-illegal-check-162449349--nhl.html
Playing football comes with great costs, including physical and mental health deterioration, plus the amount of time spent prepping before game day. Which can pose several questions, “Why suffer for a game, is it worth the money? Is it worth the fame? How great is the cost?” I believe that football, should have stricter regulations for the treatment of injuries, along with informing players of just how devastating a concussion can be, along with the other major injuries that commonly occur while playing football.
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
Are current equipment regulations enough to keep our hockey athletes safe? I ask this after the life threatening injury that recently occurred here in Buffalo. However this isn’t the first time that the NHL (National Hockey League) has seen injuries of this magnitude. What were these injuries? How did they affect the NHL rules? What kind of rules are in place today? What is the NHL doing about neck guards? These questions and more will be answered as we take a look into NHL injuries, the history of equipment regulations, current equipment regulations, and the debate over neck guards.
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
Football is a very violent sport. There is a lot of concern over the risks posed by hits that injure the head and potentially the brain. The players say they have suffered one or more brain injuries. They want the NFL and helmet maker, Riddell, to set up and pay for medical monitoring and treatment programs for all former, current and future NFL players. Liberals are big supporters of the respect for human dignity. In that case, the NFL tentatively agreed to pay $765 million to past players with health problems that can be caused by concussions. Although research and progress within the scientific and medical communities is understandably slow, the same could be said about the NFL's response to concussions and the dangers they pose to new research reveals new findings. However, some liberals believe that it has taken to long for the NFL to respond to the perceived crisis and its attempt to regulate the concussion treatments which could eventually lead to players ...
Playing football comes with several risks factors that players’ acknowledge prior to playing the game starting a young age. Regardless, these players still chose to play the game, which they end up loving and cherishing despite all the risks accompanied with it. Football is one of the toughest sports in the world; it takes a certain amount of strength, speed, and aggressiveness to play 48 minutes of hard-nosed football. However, the National Football League (NFL) is in the midst of a controversial issue. Is the NFL getting soft? This has been a debatable issue for several years. While some believe that implementing all these rules in the NFL is progressively turning the game soft, others say that the NFL is not getting soft; it is just trying to make the game safer for its players.
R, Elvik, and Kim k. "Accident Analysis & Prevention." Body-contact sports: Catharsis or reinforcement?. 6.1 (1974): 85-91. Print
Athletes have been abusing their spouses since sports were created, but not until the OJ Simpson trial did domestic violence become "the issue du jour." When Simpson was arrested on New Years Day for beating his wife, none of the newspapers reported it. When he pleaded no contest five months later, there was a small brief in the second page of The Los Angeles Times' Metro Section (Cart).
Toporek, Bryan. “Concussion Laws Targeting Student-Athletes on Upswing.” Education Week 10 August 2011: 10. Print.
Young, K. (2007). From Violence in Sport to Sports-Related Violence: Widening the Focus. Sport in Society: A Student Introduction, Second Edition. London. Sage Publications.
This essay focuses on intentional tort, which includes trespass to person consisting of battery, assault and false imprisonment, which is actionable per se. It also examines protection from harassment act. The essay commences with a brief description of assault, battery and false imprisonment. It goes further advising the concerned parties on the right to claim they have in tort law and the development of the law over the years, with the aid of case law, principles and statutes.
Lefebrve, Matt. Professional athletes are overpaid and selfish. Quinnipiac Chronicle, 1 Apr 2006. Web. 9 Apr 2014.
In today’s society, especially sporting activities involving youth and young adults, it is imperative to ensure the safety of those involved. When an individual is injured either physically, emotionally or both, there is the concern of legal action towards coaches and the association conducting the sporting activity (Wolohan, 2013). The litigious culture that Americans live under has produced a heightened awareness to avoid negligence in athletic activities through proper training and education (Wolohan, 2013). Negligence is defined as an unintended accident that has caused injury to a person or material goods without a premeditated plan of action to cause pain and suffering (Yiamouyiannis, 2008). For that reason, the
is very true when dealing with a physical contact sport like hockey. There is a
Sacco, V.F and Kennedy, L.W (2011). The Criminal Event: An Introduction to Criminology in Canada. Toronto Cengage Learning.