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Gender
8 comments
TL;DR Boxing is one of the most dangerous sports in existence, causing both a series of physical and mental ailments which can worsen overtime. The alarming connections being made between boxers and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) highlights the true danger of the sport and emphasises why it should be banned.
Unlike most other sports, boxing is focussed on causing enough bodily harm on the opponent that they are unable to continue the fight. It can, and unfortunately has, resulted in death and has been linked to creating an increased likelihood of gaining a chronic brain injury from competing in the sport.
The frequent blows to the head which are inevitable in boxing can cause two kinds of injury – short term physical impact, and the troubling long term permanent brain damage. The added weight of boxing gloves causes more serious damage which could have permanent consequences, examples including blood vessels breaking and causing haemorrhages. Large haemorrhages are the main cause of boxers falling into comas or even dying in the ring.
Injuries of boxing also cause long term damage and can cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This has been linked to causing progressive memory and movement problems, as well as personality issues. Although CTE has affected many different kinds of sportspeople, boxers have suffered from it the most. 15 to 40% of ex-boxers at any given time have been found to have symptoms of CTE causing chronic brain injury.
Boxing is the only sport that has the express goal of inflicting injury and causing injury on the body and brain. Both the serious short term and long term consequences of taking part in the sport makes it very difficult to justify its existence.
WORKS REFERENCED
‘Ban boxing – it's demeaning and dangerous’, (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21929290-200-ban-boxing-its-demeaning-and-dangerous/#ixzz6nmS8HY00)
‘Why is boxing still not banned?’, (https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/trevor-hancock-why-is-boxing-still-not-banned-1.23834036)
The hitting someone till their brain reboots isn't good (understatement). But many other things like the exercise, training, community and support networks that tend to spring up around boxing can be extremely positive. How can we keep the good, but avoid using damaging the brain as a way to keep score?
Instinctively I agree , however I can't discount the discipline necessarily acquired through this sport. There are many cases where aggressive tendencies can be correctly channeled and much is gained.
TL;DR It would be unfair to ban boxing where there are also so many other sports that are deemed to be dangerous.
There are definitely dangers involved with boxing, however, every sport has its dangers. If we banned every sport that had dangerous risks, there would not be many sports left and this would cause much upset for many people.
Aside from boxing, another sport that is seen to be a dangerous game is rugby. Rugby is a collision sport, therefore traumatic injuries can occur. Other injuries that the sport can cause is fractured bones, dislocation, muscle bruises and ligament sprains / tears.
Another sport which can cause injury is snowboarding as fatal falls can occur. Serious fractures are also common, as well as the possibility of being caught in an avalanche.
The point of this is that yes, of course boxing is dangerous, but so are many other sports. It would not be fair to ban boxing and then to keep all the others sports that are deemed to be dangerous.
I think rather than ban boxing altogether, we should find ways of making the sport a safer one. Perhaps, review the rules of the game and experiment to see if the players can wear anymore protective equipment. There are already some rules in boxing to prevent severe injury, these include a ban on punching the back of the head.
Works Cited:
'Preventing Rugby Injuries' https://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/STOP/STOP/Prevent_Injuries/Rugby_Injury_Prevention.aspx#:~:text=Because%20it%20is%20a%20collision,because%20helmets%20are%20not%20worn.
TL;DR Boxing, despite its dangers, should not be banned, as it has increasingly been encouraged as a mechanism against poverty and fighting youth street crime.
The most noticeable example of athletes participating in boxing within poverty-stricken communities is in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the apartheid, many black South Africans saw boxing as a ‘way out’, Nick Durant, trainer at a gym within Johannesburg which has previously produced 5 world champions, claims ‘there are not many boxers who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths’. For many, boxing offers a focus that exists off the streets and due to its accessibility, remains an appropriate means for many.
In a study of boxing clubs within Belfast, Northern Ireland, the local authority found that 90% of clubs were within the 20% most deprived wards in Belfast, showing the continued link between boxing opportunities and deprivation. It can be argued that boxing clubs have significant positive impacts on crime rates, educational attainment and attendance, promote healthy lifestyles and tackles social disadvantage (Amateur Boxing Association of England).
Further to this, L. S. Goodman, within his work ‘Endless punchers: Body, narrative, and performance in the world of Japanese boxing’, makes the point that ‘the discourse of relative deprivation can easily flip flop once it is applied to the subject of boxing because a sense of deprivation – of having been marginalised, victimised or oppressed – is held as essential to generation of ‘hunger’ that typifies success in the sport’, suggesting once again the relationship between boxing and poverty.
I am a lifelong fight fan. Nobody is forced into the ring I could name men who were sa ed from a life of crime by boxing.
Boxing should not be banned for two reasons. Firstly, boxing is important in Romany Gypsy culture, and GRT (Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) people are quite oppressed enough without the moral guardians trying to 'ban' a sport that is integral to their traditional life. Secondly, the state should not use force to prevent people from doing something that does not harm anyone who did not consent. If two people both consent to a boxing match, are you really OK with the police manhandling them into a van and dragging them before a magistrate to have their money taken or be thrown in a cage, all for the 'crime' of getting involved with a sport that you dislike?
I have met a whole range of different people boxing at the local factory over the years. It's an important step of the process before shipping the products out to the stores. Why would anyone want to get rid of this job role?
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