The Football Question - Part Two

            One response I’ve encountered regarding the question of whether or not football is too violent or physically aggressive to be part of a Christian school sports program is that other sports that aren’t questioned are (just as) physically aggressive [I’m using this term instead of “violent,” as a result of Jason’s comments] as football.  The argument is that basketball also involves contact which is sometimes physically aggressive – consider the “banging” that goes on under the basket.  Or that baseball is physically aggressive – brush-back pitches, collisions at the plate, breaking up a double play.  There is no doubt that these sports have some degree of physical aggression in them, but this aggression is not meant to be as integral to the game as is the aggression of football.

            Consider that while a basketball player may intend to get to the basket, she must go around the defender, not through her.  If she goes through her, she will be called for a foul and the opposing team gets the ball.  Some jockeying for position goes on under the basket for rebounds, but if the jockeying is judged to be out of line, the referee will call a foul.

            Baseball is similar.  While there may be some contact in breaking up a double play, intentionally going after the infielder will result in an interference and an out call.  Brush-back pitches are illegal.  In high school sports, collisions at the plate are outlawed.

            There may be some contact in basketball or baseball, and that contact might be physically aggressive or violent on occasion, but this contact is not inherently part of these games, and is, in fact, often punished.  The aggressive contact in football is essential to the game and is encouraged.  This is an important difference.

            In basketball, you have to go around the defender, in football, you try to go through the defender, pushing him out of the way.  In basketball, you cannot have (significant) physical contact with the offensive player; in football, you attempt to strike the offensive player with enough force and technique to knock him to the ground.  The physically aggressive contact is foundational to the game.  No one proposes to play flag football, they want to play tackle football.

            It is true that good coaching will emphasize technique – tackling over hitting – but this doesn’t eliminate the violent or physically aggressive nature of the sport.  Football is not as physically aggressive as boxing, where the game is designed to knock an opponent senseless, but it is more physically aggressive than baseball or basketball.  The question remains: Is there a point on the continuum of physical aggression which a Christian school sports program ought not cross?  If so (and I believe so), where does football stand in regard to this point?  Does football cross the line?

In Part Three, I'll try to summarize what I've come to understand on this issue.