Here is an example of why I feel sports can be used to glorify violence and aggression.

My brother was telling me how much he had enjoyed a recent film set in the Gran Prix world. An incident in the film has a member of one racing team visiting the pit of his rival and dropping a lug nut on the ground while the pit crew is conducting a tire change. After the car gets back on the track, someone finds the lug nut on the ground and panics, thinking maybe his car is out there on the track with a compromised wheel. The car is flagged in for an emergency pit stop, thereby crippling that team's chances for a victory.

My brother thought this was "cool". I thought it was ruthless and criminal. Where's the so-called "sportsmanship" that sportsmen are always whining about to promote the benefits of competition. I thought that the entire philosophy of sport was centered on the contest, not the victory. Although the lug nut ploy didn't actually threaten anyone's life, it showed that "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."

I once saw a man publicly insult and humiliate his wife at a post-race award ceremony because she had supposedly bungled a sail change that cost him a victory in a race. The prize was an engraved pickle tray trophy. That is the attitude I associate with sports, not all those ghetto kids that are allegedly steered away from a life of street crime.

I don't hate sports, its the attitude and mentality they appeal to that I despise.