Are Combative Sports Violent?
Combative sports can be a dangerous hobby and profession. Deciding to get inside of an arena to fight another person can - and does - lead to injury for both one’s self and opponent. Their clash is encouraged by loud audiences who applaud and cheer when the fighters trade blows. Viewers eagerly await the climax of the fight when one fighter takes a heavy blow and falls resulting in the other being the victor. While entertaining, we might consider whether or not these fights are motivated solely for entertainment value or by some violent tendencies. There is much to consider in the ethics of combative sports.
There are a number of concerns brought up when we talk about the ethics of combative sports. Namely, and what will be discussed here, that combative sports are violent, promote violence, and that the competitors promote immoral character traits for the worsening of society. Note that, due to space constraints, I am strictly speaking of competitive combative sports. Hobby sports and martial arts practiced for philosophical and lifestyle choices may rear their heads where relevant but, for the most part, I will not be referring to them unless explicitly.
Combative Sports are Violent
It is first important to note that when I question whether combative sports are violent I am referring not to the sport as the rules are written but, rather, to the sport in how and why it is played by people. I am referring to the people who participate in these sports when we consider the moral questions.
What is violence? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines violence as “the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy.” (1). Violence, in this definition, may be used to argue that combative sports are violent. To be victorious, one must injure an opponent to the point where he cannot fight anymore or gives up. Therefore, one could argue that combative sports are violent.
A non-literal reading of this definition, though, is that violence implies some sense of immoral intention. That is, one who seeks to cause injury and abuse does so because they want to cause injury and abuse for the sake of it or for pursuit of some other immoral goal (such as the goal to maim a rival). One may turn to violence to fulfill some evil desires or may seek to injure another because of their love of fighting (which will be a recurring theme later on). However, one may argue that in competitive sports - and in sports in general, for that matter - competitors are not inherently evil and can therefore be exempt from being described as violent.
John Kavanaugh, MMA coach for fighter Connor McGregor, argues in a string of tweets that violence isn’t inherent to combative sports because there’s consensual agreement between fighters that they will be competing against each other in a feat of strength (2). He likens violence to “thugs kicking someone half to death on the street.” He argues here that violence is inherently bad as it involves a perpetrator harming a victim in a “violent assault.” In combative sports, there is only competition no different than competing lines in a football game. It is contractual in the sense that there is no victim as both fighters agree to the terms and conditions of the fight. There is risk that one may be hurt but the goals of the fighters are not immoral. Rather than to simply “injure” an opponent, competitors want to win. The injuries one sustains are no different than in other sports.
That being said, it can hardly be argued that there don’t exist fighters that do not embody some type of immoral character traits akin to those who seek to cause violence in a combative sport. But what are these traits and who promotes them?
Competitors Promote Immoral Character Traits
“I had a morality problem. I was without any morals...I'd still be that violent schmuck because that's all I once knew – how to hurt people…" - Mike Tyson (3)
Fighters, like celebrities, are given spotlights to share with the world their personalities and talents. From them, we gain insight into what it takes to be successful in the arena and apply it to our own lives. This can be from what they say and what they do. Sometimes, however, it seems apparent that, for some fighters, stardom is built on the backs of evil giants. That is, fighters may portray traits in their actions and comments (which have helped them become successful) which can be immoralities. For instance, in an infamous fight between Mike Tyson and Evander Hollyfield, Tyson, unprovoked, bit off a chunk of Hollyfield’s ear on live television. (4). He claimed that he was very frustrated at a tactic Hollyfield used throughout the fight and Tyson couldn’t help but lash out. One may argue that this is an example of an immoral act (biting off a competitors ear) backed by an immoral character trait (unprovoked anger). Tyson would not come any closer to winning as per the rules of boxing if he did or did not bite off his opponents ear (in fact he lost points) and doing so was malicious.
There is a tendency for spectators to adopt a type of “ends justify the means” view. Although spectators won’t forget his notable moments, we applaud fighters such as Tyson as being great despite the fact that they commit immoral acts (namely, biting off an opponent's ear for no competitive purpose). Further, it is considered that, to be the greatest in combative sports, one must be like the greatest. So it should not be too far of a step to assume that people are motivated by Tyson’s actions and seek to replicate his success and may, in doing so, adopt similar immoral traits.
There are many fighters that promote immoral traits through immoral actions which are publicized (such as Connor McGregor and the Khabib Nurmogomedov bus attack (5)). However, there are also fighters that seek to promote moral traits. In the very beginning of the Ultimate Fighting Confederation (UFC), the goal of the organization was to promote the martial arts in a contest to see which was the superior. Royce Gracie was a practitioner of brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and went on to win the tournament. It’s believed that Royce did not fight for any violent or immoral intention but, rather, to promote the martial art of BJJ.
He encouraged many to adopt his mindset that smaller people can defend themselves and win against much larger opponents through his victories against larger opponents such as Ken Shamrock (6). In addition, BJJ can be seen to be utilized in defending one’s family from aggressors in public (such as Ryan Hall’s dinner fight) without trading blows for a quick and decisive end to the conflict. Not only did Gracie promote an effective self-defense style of fighting but also, to be a BJJ practitioner - and, perhaps, any martial arts practitioner - one must be dedicated, eager, ambitious, cooperative with teachers and peers, and perceptive among other traits. BJJ is special in the sense that Royce Gracie promoted a side of combative sports that required traits that we may view as good.
Combative Sports Promote Violence
Combative sports do not promote violence insofar as the rules are written. Just as in any contact sport, the air of competition is filtered to be thin with malice but rich with struggle. Competitors agree to compete according to the rules as written making them liable for their own bodies to the extent that they are able to defend themselves. Competitors are punished by judges if they break rules. However, outside of the rules as written, competitors in combative sports can promote violence through immoral traits and actions.
Mike Tyson was hardly reprimanded after biting off Hollyfield’s ear. Despite this, his reputation is still that of a “one- punch wonder” and it is often that discussion of Tyson is of his incredible career as a fighter rather than of his less-incredible reputation of violence. This should not - and does not - detract from the fact that Mike Tyson promotes some immoral traits through his actions and talk.
On the contrary, it may also be argued that there exists some who seek to promote moral ideas and tendencies through combative sports such as with Royce Gracie promoting a martial art that encourages pursuit of qualities that we may deem moral. It seems, then, that whether or not combative sports are violent is highly dependent on the competitors and their own psychologies, and whether or not we acknowledge them.
References
Violence. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/violence
Wyman, P. (2017, October 03). Is mixed martial arts simply violence for the sake of violence? Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2605592-is-mixed-martial-arts-simply-violence-for-the-sake-of-violence
PowerfulJRE (Producer). (2019, January 17). Joe Rogan Experience #1227 - Mike Tyson [Video file]. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MNv4_rTkfU
BoxingNews (Producer). (n.d.). Mike Tyson Bites Holyfields ear clean off [Video file]. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKPMVex-UKk&t=5s
Quickdrops (Producer). (2018, April 05). Conor attacks Khabib bus - full story all scenes FOOTAGE COMPILATION [Video file]. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcqSv1i4vzg
UFC (Director). (2019, May 25). UFC 5 free Fight: Ken SHAMROCK Vs Royce Gracie (1995) [Video file]. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXDT44zT8JY
