ABSTRACT
In February 2000, a professional basketball player with the San Antonio Spurs, Sean Elliott, announced his impending return to play following a life-threatening illness that resulted in a kidney transplant. Elliott's return was met with considerable media discussion and debate about whether it was appropriate for him to return to play at all, given the grave risks he might face should he receive a blow to his kidney. Lakers star Kobe Bryant, when asked how he would respond to playing against Elliott, said, “As soon as he steps on the court, that means he's healthy. I'll have no problem putting an elbow in his gut.” 1 This statement spoke to the routine nature of bodily contact and aggression in basketball. Players and coaches know that in order to be competitive enough to win, they will need to “put their bodies on” opposing players in ways that could cause bodily harm. In football and ice hockey, the overt aggression against other players is even more intense. One former National Football League player told me that before a playoff game, his coach implored his defensive players to hurt the opposing star running back if they had an opportunity to do it. This is apparently not that unusual. A 1998 Sports Illustrated cover story on “the NFL's dirtiest players” admiringly described San Francisco 49ers guard Kevin Gogan's tendencies, sometimes even after a play has been whistled dead, to “punch, kick, trip, cut-block, sit on or attempt to neuter the man lined up across from him.” Gogan's coach, Steve Mariuchi, expressed his approval: “Coaches want tough guys, players who love to hit and fly around and do things that are mean and nasty. Not everyone can be like that, but if you can have one or two players who are a little overaggressive, that's great.” 2
