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Tue, 26 Jan 1993 12:35:19 EST |
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As someone who *LOVES* sports, but is also a concerned man, I think what we
(sports-loving but concerned men) should do is clear: do all we can to change
the culture of sports. If we host Superbowl parties this year (I'm not), keep
the drinking to a minimum and try to invite a gender-diverse crowd (I know
plenty of women who enjoy watching sports). Demand the same from Superbowl
parties we attend. Put the pressure on NBC to run the public service
announcement mentioned in the posting above. Encourage responsible fan
behavior when we attend sporting events, and so forth.
At it's best, watching an athletic event can be an exciting, interesting
experience. At its worst, it can be physically violent and abusive,
whether to other fans (this happens among individuals in this country; en
masse in Europe and South America) or, in the domestic situation, to innocent
female by-standers. Many sports fans revel in these worst aspects and those
who run professional sports (and I include TV networks here) take advantage
of this because it is to their financial advantage: they emphasize the
violence of the action in their advertising, they fail to crack down on
violence on the playing field/ice, etc. It is up to us responsible fans
(and our many allies among the non-fans) to force the leagues and networks to
be more responsible themselves.
-- Ben Alpers
[log in to unmask]
Princeton University (whose views this does not represent)
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