Why and How the Negative Opinions on Boxing Are Justified - Assignment Example

Research paper on why and how the negative opinions on boxing are justified Introduction: Sporting activity is essentially an offshoot of the primordial instinct of survival and growth of a society. Over the years it has evolved into many forms ranging from direct physical confrontation to indirect acts like using balls, racquets, and balls. But one sporting activity that is still reminiscent of the primordial instinct is boxing. Even though it has developed a set of rules and regulations that sets it apart from Plain Street fighting, there are concerns that it is too violent, and also that it promotes violence and is detrimental to long term health of the participants. This paper reviews the relevance of boxing in today’s world when compared to other forms of sporting action. Even though negative opinions on boxing cannot be justified as all games involve some amount of risks, courage and heroism, the game could be modified so as to make it more appealing to all lovers of humanity. Debates on boxing: Even though many people hold that boxing promotes violence and is detrimental to one’s health, there are no sound reasons to prohibit boxing legally. The paternalism versus respect for autonomy debate on boxing deserves attention in this regard. As Morgan points out, the “paternalistic arguments do not seem strong enough to justify a general prohibition, and the standards of community are an insufficient guide to action” (Morgan 386). There is no doubt that one has the personal liberty to participate in any games whether it is cycling or boxing. Of course, there are direct and indirect risks involved in a boxing competition and anyone who participates in the game accept these risks quite happily, voluntarily and adventurously. However, one can never do away with the moral and ethical concerns connected with the game. Those who share moral concerns on the game refuse to support the game in its current format and advocates for radical reforms by which the game could be converted to a popular sports item rather than a dangerous game that resorts to violence and fatal injuries. The advocates of radical reforms on the game emphasize “mandatory use of helmets by fighters, prohibition of blows to the head, and emphasis on scoring points through skill rather than on inflicting damage to opponents” (Morgan 386). According to Mill, one should respect “the right of autonomous adults to exercise their ability to rationally guide their behavior by their own freely chosen values” and therefore one’s attempts to “interfere with the career choices of adults who wish to take up boxing is wrong” (Morgan 390). However, the paternalistic arguments for restricting boxing are many and varied. Even though fighters do have the individual freedom to participate voluntarily in any games that they wish to partake just as Mill defends, one can never undermine the paternalistic argument that the risks of brain damage are so severe in the game of boxing. Paternalists argue that “in return for the psychological benefits of being allowed to live according to their own lights, the minuscule chance of becoming rich, boxers face the likelihood of irreversible brain damage” (Morgan 390). The paternalism versus respect for autonomy debate on boxing also calls for an analysis of the range of autonomy displayed by boxers in their decision to pursue the boxing career. The author is of the opinion that many boxers lack ‘adequate information’ to make such autonomous decision as they are unaware of the medical health related dangers that are associated with the nature of the game. Very often the promoters, managers, and trainers of the game do have their own vested interests and therefore they usually keep away those vital information that may prevent boxers to follow the career of a boxer. Studies have also shown that there are many boxers who pursue the career of a boxer due to external circumstances rather than by their own autonomous decisions; marginalization, poverty and desperation prompt many to pursue the career of a boxer. One of the most reputed and controversial icons in boxing is Muhammad Ali and it has become part of history that he got Parkinsons disease and Neuropsychological damage from boxing. Muhammad Ali’s experience underlines the severity of traumatic brain injury and persistent memory deficits that boxing causes to the professional boxers who follow the boxing career for a longer duration. The likelihood of cumulative blows on the head is stronger in boxing compared to other games. Lezak, in this respect, observes that even boxers who have never been knocked out in competitions are subject to brain injuries and multiple skeletal damages; they “suffer the effects of years of jabs to the head, as shown by the Parkinson-like slowing and motor symptoms and the mental compromise of boxers such as Muhammad Ali” (Lezak 192). The author, referring to many previous researches, purports that boxers develop “punch drunk” syndrome, motor symptoms, impotence, cerebral atrophy, cognitive defects such as “attentional deficits, memory impairment, disorientation, and confusion” (Lezak 193). However, it has been argued by many researchers that “well-controlled” amateur boxing can withstand serious injuries to the brain. Blonstein and Grant elaborate on the boxing causalities and bring out the opinions of many international referees-both amateur and professional-who are closely associated with the game. Arnold B. Cowan, who has officiated many professional and amateur boxing contexts, is of the opinion that risks are part of any game and exhorts not to exaggerate violence in boxing; for him, the injuries occurring unfortunately in the game are ‘accidental and not deliberate’. Blonstein and Grant, the joint medical officers of the Amateur Boxing Association, with the assistance of the statistical data, purport that boxing causalities in sports are much lesser compared to other sports items such as motor cycle racing, football and skiing. They argue that out of the 6,057 consecutive sports injuries in 15 years, only 100 were due to boxing; the figures are “skiing 1,784, football 1,320, gymnastics 622, bathing and swimming 523, handball 393, skating 363, toboganning 279, hockey and ice-hockey 135, wrestling 116, boxing 100, athletics 90, cross country running 57, tennis 30, and other sports 245” (Blonstein and Grant 427). As the statistics points out, the efforts to glorify violence in boxing look prejudiced and quite unreasonable. The authors thus repudiate the argument raised by Mr. Brown that boxing should be banned due to its risk elements. However, it can be argued that amateur boxers are better equipped against severe injuries compared to the professional boxers and the instance when professional boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali lobbied in front of Congress in 2004 to establish a National Boxing Commission for the protection and safety of the professional boxers pinpoints at this insecure feelings of pro boxers. Boxing and the American Society Sammons in his seminal book Beyond the Ring shows that the game of boxing has much to do in the American society rather a mere form of sports. One can trace back the American history in the evolution of the game of boxing; the American societal development-the pain, pathos, struggles and the resurrection of the Blacks in America can be understood in the various developmental phase of the game. For Sammons, boxing is much more than ‘a primitive, dangerous sport’ where two men hit each other. Boxing, as a game had its origin in the prizefighting games and the author states that the prizefighting games were not to be seen as a mere “contest pitting one man against another but as a struggle against the impersonal forces of a changing society” (Sammons xvii). Boxers like John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, James J. Braddock, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali had their own points to prove to the American society. In 1967 he refused induction into the armed services and became a symbol of resistance to the Vietnam War. Very often boxing turned out to be an arena which became “the target of Progressive reform initiatives and a scapegoat for antiforeign and racist sentiment” (Sammons xvii). In fact, the game has been instrumental in the redefinition of racism, civil rights and nationalism and even when there is explicit violence in the game, the growing popularity and the increasing number of participants-both amateur and professional- of the game justifies beyond doubt the significance of the game world wide. The media and the press have considerably increased the publicity of the game just as they have added fuel to the fire of growing debates over the violence displayed in the game. The moral aspect in boxing: Like many sports, boxing can cause physical damages to the self. But to those willing to risk the physical damage to the self apparently do not look at the moral side when it comes to the opponents they face. In other words, winning is the key, no matter how it happens. Larry Holmes the famous boxer puts it succinctly when he states that boxing is a Jekyll and Hyde game (Boxill 182). There is no morality involved; only winning matters. In a sense, winning is accepted as long as it does not infringe on legal and sport rules. A boxer can resort to any act of violence as long as it does not result in violation of boxing rules. In that sense, boxing has no morality, in the sense that winning is all that matters. But the fact remains that boxing is considered a sport and hence should be judged in terms as such. Every sport is about competition and winning which is an offshoot of the hunting instinct inherent in survival and growth of a species including humans. Gardiner states that boxing is the “man’s instinct to fight” (Gardiner 108). But he distinguishes street fights from boxing in the sense that the latter is more disciplined and is more attuned to self discipline than plain aggression. Dowling goes to the extent to say that professional boxing can actually bring down uncontrolled aggression and violence in society (Dowling 74). Gardiner states that boxing actually is an extension of the need for survival more than conquering. In other words, boxing is no different from other sports. Each sport whether it is athletics, football, or boxing is based on the concept of winning which is a modern extension of survival. Desmond Morris, author of the bestselling book The Naked Ape state that all athletes of any sport are ‘pseudo hunters’ (Cashmore 108). Any lover of sport in whatever form can also be labeled as a supporter of the pseudo hunter. It is no wonder that boxing which is one of the most primitive forms of modern sport can be seen as an extension of man’s need for survival and growth. Survival is paramount in any setting. A boxer or an athlete is competing primarily for survival, just like a salesman or model. In that sense any form of activity that is essential for survival can be justified. It is another matter that boxing or any other form of aggressive form or sport like karate can cause injury. Sport, whether it is boxing or football seems to have an effect of raising the primordial instinct in human beings. According to Gerdy, any violent act in sports especially in case of adults is seen as an offshoot of the inherent animal instinct that is still prevalent in the society (Gerdy 60). There are many forms of sport that can satisfy the animal instinct that is still seen in society without resorting to violence. Bovet equates hitting one another physically as seen in boxing to attacking with a bat or racquet (Bovet 23). This indicates that the primordial need for survival and growth can be expressed in other forms that is not inherently damaging to the participants. Conclusion: It is apparent that human beings need some form of outlet to express their instinct for survival, aggression, and growth. Modern day sports are a civilized extension of this primordial instinct. Organized boxing is a part of this expression of this primordial instinct. But the capacity of the human mind has evolved to such an extent that activities that are intentionally intended at physical damage like in the case of boxing have made its presence felt in the sporting arena. It can be cricket, baseball, tennis, chess or caroms. Each of these games can satisfy the hunter instinct in man where any potential harm is more accidental than intentional. Boxing, as a sport continues to be popular, but can be replaced or modified by other forms so that the inherent danger in the sport is removed. Works Cited Blonstein and Grant. “Boxing Causalities”. British Medical Journal. (Feb 6, 1960), p. 427. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. 5 August 2009 Bovet, Pierre. The Fighting Instinct. READ BOOKS, 2006. Boxill, Jan. Sports ethics: an anthology. Illustrated 3rd ed: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. Cashmore, Ernest. Making sense of sports. Illustrated 4th ed: Routledge, 2005. Dowling, Vincent George. Fistiana: or, The oracle of the ring ... 2nd ed: Harvard University, 2007. Gardiner, Simon. Sports law. Revised 3rd ed: Routledge Cavendish, 2006. Gerdy, John R. Sports: the all-American addiction. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2002. Lezak, Muriel Deutsch. Neuropsychological assessment. Illustrated 3rd ed. Oxford University Press: US, 1995. Morgan, William John. Ethics in sport. Illustrated 2nd ed: Human Kinetics, 2007. Sammons, Jeffrey T. Beyond the Ring: THE ROLE OF BOXING IN AMERICAN SOCIETY. Illustrated Edition: University of Illinois Press, 1990. Read More