33 Violence in sports

"Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking them such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head. A pitcher who throws beanballs often is known as a "headhunter". The term may be applied to any sport in which a player on one team regularly attempts to throw a ball toward the general vicinity of a player of the opposite team, but is typically expected not to hit that player with the ball. In cricket, the equivalent term is "beamer". Some people use the term "beaner", though that usage is discouraged as it is also an ethnic slur.

A bench-clearing brawl is a form of ritualistic fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which every player on both teams leaves their dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charges the playing area in order to fight one another or try to break up a fight. Penalties for leaving the bench can range from nothing to severe.

Todd Bertuzzi is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a power forward, he has played in the NHL for the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings.

John Dee Bright was an American professional football player in the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Drake University. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame, the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, the Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, and the Des Moines Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

Vontaze DeLeon Burfict Jr. is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Arizona State. Considered the most highly ranked football prospect Arizona State ever signed to a letter of intent, Burfict was recognized as an All-American in 2010 and projected an early first round pick for the 2012 NFL Draft. However, a mediocre on-field performance and poor pre-draft workouts diminished his draft stock and he ultimately went unselected. He was subsequently signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2012, where he played for seven seasons.

In baseball, charging the mound is an assault by a batter against the pitcher, usually the result of being hit by a pitch or nearly being hit by a pitch, such as a brushback. The first incidence of a professional charging of the mound has not been identified, but the practice dates back to the game's early days. Charging the mound is the most common initiator of a bench-clearing brawl.

Tyrus Raymond Cobb, nicknamed The Georgia Peach, was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936 Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.2%); no other player received a higher percentage of votes until Tom Seaver in 1992. In 1999, the Sporting News ranked Ty Cobb third on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players".

The 2011 Crosstown Shootout brawl, nicknamed The Crosstown Punch-Out, was a bench-clearing brawl that took place at the end of the 2011 edition of the Crosstown Shootout college basketball game between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the Xavier University Musketeers. The game took place on December 10, 2011 at Xavier's home arena, the Cintas Center in Norwood.

Benjamin Earl Franklin Davidson, Jr. was an American football player, a defensive end best known for his play with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League. Earlier in his career, he was with the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins of the National Football League.

Robert Keith Dibble is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and television analyst. Between 1988 and 1995, Dibble played for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers. He was a two-time All-Star who recorded 89 saves during his career. Since retiring as a player, Dibble has held several roles in sports television broadcasting.

Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history that involves many levels of amateur and professional play and includes some notable individual fights. Fighting may be performed by enforcers, or "goons" —players whose role is to fight and intimidate—on a given team, and is governed by a system of unwritten rules that players, coaches, officials, and the media refer to as "the code". Some fights are spontaneous, while others are premeditated by the participants. While officials tolerate fighting during hockey games, they impose a variety of penalties on players who engage in fights.

Franklin Thomas Francisco is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox.

A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena. Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death.

Andre Bernard Gurode is a former American football center and guard who played 11 seasons in the NFL. He played college football for the University of Colorado, earning consensus All-American recognition. The Dallas Cowboys selected him in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He is a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and has also played for the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, and Oakland Raiders.

Tonya Maxene Price is a former American figure skater, retired boxer, and reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised primarily by her mother, who enrolled her in ice skating lessons beginning at four years old. Harding spent much of her early life training, eventually dropping out of high school to devote her time to the sport. After climbing the ranks in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships between 1986 and 1989, Harding won the 1989 Skate America competition. She had been the 1991 and 1994 U.S. champion before being stripped of her 1994 title, and 1991 World silver medalist. In 1991, she earned distinction as being the first American woman to successfully land a triple Axel in competition, and the second woman to do so in history. Harding is a two-time Olympian and a two-time Skate America Champion.

Albert George Haynesworth III is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football at the University of Tennessee. Drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft, he spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Titans. An All-Pro selection in 2007 and 2008, and considered "the most dominant defensive tackle in the league" at that time, Haynesworth was a highly coveted free agent following the 2008 season. He signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Washington Redskins in February 2009, but played less than two full seasons with Washington. The Redskins' acquisition of Haynesworth has since been widely derided as the worst free agent signing in NFL history.

Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II, billed as "the Sound and the Fury" and afterwards infamously referred to as "the Bite Fight" or "the Bite of '97" was a professional boxing match contested on June 28, 1997, for the WBA Heavyweight Championship. It achieved notoriety as one of the most bizarre fights in boxing history, after Tyson bit off part of Holyfield's ear. Tyson was disqualified from the match and lost his boxing license, though it was later reinstated.

The Knicks–Nuggets brawl was an on-court altercation at a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, December 16, 2006. This altercation became the most penalized on-court fight in the NBA since the Pacers–Pistons brawl from two years before.

Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, most notably for the San Francisco Giants. Marichal was known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters' helmets.

Marco Materazzi is an Italian former professional footballer and manager.

Martin James McSorley is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 until 2000. A versatile player, he was able to play both the forward and defense positions.

José Antonio Offerman Dono is a Dominican retired professional baseball player who played professional baseball for nearly 20 years. He played for 15 seasons in the Major League Baseball and has played 4 seasons of independent and Mexican League baseball since leaving MLB.

William Thomas Romanowski is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos. Selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 1988 NFL Draft, he spent six seasons each in San Francisco and Denver. He was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders for two seasons each. At the time of his retirement, Romanowski won four Super Bowl titles, two each with the 49ers and Broncos, and twice received Pro Bowl honors during his Broncos tenure. However, he also led a controversial career due to often engaging in unsportsmanlike behavior, which led to frequent altercations with opponents and teammates.

John Junior Roseboro was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Roseboro, who was a four-time All-Star player and won two Gold Glove Awards, is considered one of the best defensive catchers of the 1960s. He was the Dodgers' starting catcher in four World Series with the Dodgers winning three of those. Roseboro was known for his role in one of the most violent incidents in baseball history when Juan Marichal struck him in the head with a bat during a game in 1965.

Monica Seles is a retired professional tennis player, who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. She was born and raised in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia to an ethnic Hungarian family. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007. A former world no. 1, she won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of them as a teenager while representing Yugoslavia, and the final one while representing the United States.

Randall Carlito Simon is a Curaçao former professional baseball first baseman. He has played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), LVBP and one in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) between 1997 and 2006. Simon's debut season came with the Atlanta Braves in 1997, for whom he played until 1999. He also played for the Detroit Tigers (2001–2002), Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs (2003), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2004), the NPB's Orix Buffaloes (2005), Texas Rangers (2006) Philadelphia Phillies (2006-2007). Upon his release from the Phillies in spring training, Simon played in the Mexican League, for the Rojos del Águila de Veracruz and Potros de Tijuana. He also played in the Northern League for the Gary SouthShore RailCats in 2010 and Rockford RiverHawks in 2011. He is currently the Bravos de León hitting coach.

Emir Spahić is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Uruguay national team. Often regarded as one of the best players in the world, and as one of the greatest strikers of his generation, Suárez has won 19 trophies in his career, which include six league titles, a UEFA Champions League title at club level, and a Copa América with Uruguay. A prolific goalscorer, Suárez has won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, a Premier League Golden Boot, also ending the six-year dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by winning La Liga's Pichichi Trophy in 2016. He has scored 491 career goals for club and country.

Ndamukong Ngwa Suh is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska, where he earned All-American honors, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions second overall in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. is an American retired basketball player and Hall of Fame coach. His professional playing career, which lasted between 1970 and 1981, was entirely spent with the San Diego / Houston Rockets. Tomjanovich was a five-time NBA All-Star forward; four consecutive times between 1974 and 1977, and again in 1979. He also made the playoffs five times: in 1975, 1977, and consecutively between 1979 and 1981.

Unsportsmanlike conduct is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmanship and participant conduct. Examples include verbal abuse or taunting of an opponent, an excessive celebration following a scoring play, or feigning injury. The official rules of many sports include a general provision whereby participants or an entire team may be penalized or otherwise sanctioned for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Violence has been a part of ice hockey since at least the early 1900s. According to the book Hockey: A People's History, in 1904 alone, four players were killed during hockey games from the frequent brawls and violent stickwork.

Metta Sandiford-Artest is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Ron Artest before legally changing his name to Metta World Peace in 2011 and later to Metta Sandiford-Artest in May 2020.