Somehow in just a shade over a decade, the family oriented cheerful world of sports has turned into a circus of brawls and freedom of speech. Wealth Money.Power. An "evil" you might say has taken over. All of these, being characteristics of what a modern athlete looks for nowadays. In Vocabulary of Evil, Jay Tolson shows us, the people, how we consume excuses for anything. But what can be said to justify the actions of the athletes? Excuses can't and shouldn't be made for bad mouthing officials, to fighting opponents, to even getting into altercations with their own teammates. .
Big shot athletes think they are above the law therefore feel that they can do what they want, when they want, and not have to face consequences for it. With the crimes getting ever more violent the media has had a field day with these superstars. Examples such as the Randy Moss incident last year, when he failed to yield for a female police officer and hit her with his car. Or the new Kobe Bryant case, where he is facing charges for rape. As these incidents keep building up the players are going to be more scrutinized than ever. But what needs to be understood is that this isn't a spontaneous thing. The "evil" has always been around; it's just waited for the right time and the perfect situation to make it famous. Sports are becoming ever more popular and their violent actions are leaking down to the lower collegiate level and even high school and junior high, and now even becoming a problem with youth sports and their parents.
Youth sports are a growing activity and also a growing problem for altercations. News stories are often showing or talking about an incident between two parents at a game, predominantly soccer and hockey, or even worse attacking an official. Polls and surveys have reported a rapid growth of youth activities ages 8-17. As Children Now shows "Fights, near-fights, threats of fights or other violent actions are found in sports coverage and often verbally framed in sarcastic language that suggests that this kind of action is acceptable.
