Submitted by: Loren Hall
When one talks about deviance, he or she is referring to the breaking of social norms. These social norms can be anything from “go up on the ‘up’ escalator” to “do not talk to yourself in public and make yourself look crazy” to “do not kill other humans.” These social norms vary slightly depending on the environment one lives in. In “the streets,” it’s a social norm not to cooperate with the police at all while that may be encouraged in the suburbs. When someone engages in a deviant act, depending on the importance of the norm they are breaking, the person usually receives a negative sanction, ranging from dirty looks for the breaking of minor norms, to fines and possible incarceration for more severe cases.
A huge story rocked the sports world this past week. Sean Payton, the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, was suspended for an entire year without pay for putting a bounty out on other players. His defense was instructed to go out and purposely injure specific opponents, knocking them out of the game, and they would get a bonus whenever they achieved their mission. This act broke a huge norm in the world of football. Safety is a top priority in this game, and they just bypassed these expectations and put players on a hit list to be taken out, mafia style.
The punishment for Payton and his team, who was also fined $500,000 and deducted 2 picks in the upcoming draft, reflects how serious a stand society takes about breaking away from the social norm. What Payton did was clearly wrong, endangering the lives of players like this. While some deviant acts aren’t considered deviant in some circumstances, I think we can all agree that putting a bounty on a player isn’t okay, definitely not a socially acceptable act. He got what he deserved.
-Ken Shaw
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your point of view on the subject to a certain extent. All through professional and collegiate sports there are examples of deviance but receive the blind eye treatment when committing acts of deviance. For example the steroids in baseball scandal, Some of the greatest players of our generation have had their legacy ruined by the fact they took P.E.D's(Performance Enhancing Drugs)Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez. All three would have been Hall of Famers but will never get a chance see their name on the ballot. Another example is the NCAA. Many of the powerhouse schools are constantly racking up infractions due to poor academic standing of their student athletes but they still get to participate in games nonetheless. To simply put it,as long as its money to be made, the governing bodies will turn their heads to any wrong doing. I suggest you look in to the SMU Football scandal of the 1970's-1980's just to show you how selective the discipline process is in sports.