Sports In Society
The article that I am reviewing is the 2006 article by Ben Livings. This is an article discussing whether violence in a sport is criminal assault or just part of the competition. This article in particular involved a case where on the 23rd of August, 2006, a Manchester City football player named Ben Thatcher, struck an opposing player, Pedro Mendez, in the face with is elbow. Mendes was unconscious and rushed to the hospital where he received many stitches. This is a case that happens quite frequently but probably to a greater degree of violence. This article was written to argue whether or not that a player should be liable and punishable by law if he should use un-sportsmanlike conduct to this degree of severity. It is said in the article that the Manchester police has issued an investigation on the matter but has not shown any indication if they will prosecute Thatcher.
The main dispute in this case is not whether Thatcher should be punished but how he should be punished. Whether by the sport’s disciplinary rules or by the law’s governing the people of its own land, it is clear that Thatcher will be punished for his actions. Some people argue that sport is a place that these type of harmful actions be punishable by regular government law, and others argue that the sport’s own rules and litigations be the law of its own players. This is merely the decision of the courts.
My opinion on this matter is simply this: Anyone who should go against any rule set forth by that sports authority shall be liable for their own actions and may be punished by the countries own law relating to that incident. No matter the severity of the incident, the person or persons involved will be held accountable by the country’s laws. I’m sure there would be different cases and the court system needs consistency but let it be consistently inconsistent. I wouldn’t let any precedent decide a totally different case. This is something I disagree with today even within the...
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