Violence involves aggressive and abusive acts which cause or intends to cause injury or harm.  Violence can either be looked down upon as a form of deviant underconformity or found acceptable as a form of deviant overconformity.  An example of violence involving deviant underconformity is a random act of violence against an innocent person.  An example of violence involving deviant overconformity is when a police officer uses violence to enforce the law.

Aggression describes any act used to coerce or terrorize another person with the threat of harm or control.  There is a close link between aggression and violence since aggression can lead to violence.  However, violence does not always involve aggression.  Intimidation refers to physical or vocal actions that suggest the possibility of aggression or violence.

There are four types of on-field related violence.  Brutal body contact is an accepted form of violence in certain sports.  Examples of this violence are tackling in football and checking in ice hockey.  Hard physical contact in sport is not seen as a crime and is not punished.  Borderline violence is an accepted form of violence in certain sports; however, the rules of the sport are also broken as a result.  This type of violence is often a result of the deviant overconformity norm in sports and includes fighting (ice hockey), brushing back a batter (baseball), and the elbow push-off (basketball).  Borderline violence is punished by small fines at most.  The next type of on-field related violence is called quasi-criminal violence.  This type of violence involves breaking the rules of the law in general, the game, and the unwritten norms of the sport.  Examples of quasi-criminal violence are the late hit (football) and sucker punch (soccer).  These acts can be very harmful and result in multiple game suspensions and costly fines for the offending athlete.  Lastly, criminal violence involves acts that are obviously not within the law and can result in criminal prosecution by the law.  Examples of this type of violence include serious assaults during or after a game that can seriously injure or kill a player.

Violence exists as a form of deviant overconformity in sport.  Sports team owners and coaches sometimes try to recruit players that have a pension for violence.  Athletes can even achieve a legendary status through use of the brutal body contact and borderline violence forms of violence.  Sometimes athletes need to use violence to enhance their performance and prove themselves.

The commercialization of violent sports has created more opportunities to play and make money in those sports.  Certain violent sports such as football and ice hockey are highly televised for all, including children to see.  The increased injury rate in violent sports such as football is due to more athletes playing the sport than before.  The commercialization of violent sports is associated with in increased violence in sports; however, it is not the main cause.

To better understand violence in sports we must take into account issues involving gender and masculinity.   The majority of male athletes competing in sports agree that aggression is a natural and acceptable behavior within their sport.  Male athletes do not see violent acts as violent, but as an integral part of the game.  Many children feel pressured to participate in power and performance sports since it is looked upon as a way to prove their masculinity.  Male athletes can use violence to reinforce masculinity and it is even encouraged for them to do so.  However, “when women do violence in sports, it may be seen as a sign of commitment or skill, but it is not seen as proof of femininity” (Coakley, 205).

The public believes there exists somewhat of a correlation between athletes’ on-field violence and their off-field violent behavior.  A theory on these phenomena states that athletes who play violent sports were violent to begin with.  Another theory attempting to explain off-field violence by athletes is that they may be forced into violence due to their surroundings and celebrity status.

Violence at sporting events tends to be higher at contact sports games such as football and basketball.  Crowd violence at sporting events was much more prevalent in the past than it is now.  However, violence at sporting events is still a concern that needs more investigation.