Athletic Affiliation and Violence Against Women - Essay Example

Critical Response to "Athletic Affiliation and Violence Against Women" To me the ESPN poll clearly shows that there is a perception that athletes are more likely to commit crimes against women. This may or may not be the case, but the fact that a slight majority of people thought so indicates that there is some truth to these claims. The author Crossat accurately identifies the main cause as men wanting to have power and control over women and that this does not differ between athletes and non-athletes.

However, I would say that athletes are more inclined towards this notion because they already feel the need to act powerful and dominate on the field of play, so why should off the field be any different? I agree with Sandays findings in that culture plays a large role in determining the frequency of rape. I would argue that females have very little representation in high level sport, so there is somewhat of a gender imbalance here. Sanday lists the three main causes as violence, male domination, and gender segregation.

Sports such as football and hockey are violent enough already, but they also encourage male domination. Finally, females are not equally represented in these environments. If they are, in the case of football, then they are likely to be cheerleaders, which once again fulfill a stereotype that they are only there for entertainment and the pleasure of the players. Although violence against women can occur in all aspects of society, it is more likely to occur in sports because of the pressure involved.