Step Back. Think, who run education programs and awareness raising campaigns to prevent violence, was created in 2006 in response to an attack on James Macready Bryan outside a pub on his 20th birthday.
He was punched once, fell backwards and his head smashed against the pavement. He was seriously brain damaged, which left him permanently disabled and requiring 24-hour care.
He suffers spasticity and his family have to live with their son spending the rest of his life bound by the restrictions somebody else inflicted upon their boy.
In the past few weeks, we have had some very public debates about the role that violence plays in our society.
There have been a few in AFL circles, including Alastair Clarkson’s after game altercation, Chris Judd’s story of being provoked on Lygon St, and Justin Leppitsch’s ‘manhandling’ of a younger player. Moreover, there was the “Fight of the Century” between a convicted abuser of women, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao, as well as the ongoing, but well overdue, focus on domestic violence and other forms of men’s violence against women.
Sports are regularly asked to ‘do more’ when it comes to tackling social issues including racism, homophobia, sexism or violence, among others. I often get frustrated with this idea that sport is the panacea of our problems, and the focus isn’t shifted to other organisations or industries.
However, I do think that sport has enormous capacity to positively influence the way young people act and think.
I think many people in sporting clubs, particularly those involved in male team sports, worry about their younger players getting in fights on a Saturday night after a game. There are many people, often responsible for looking after young men in sporting clubs, who understand the danger and futility of this violence.
There remains, however, many people, male and female, who still believe that there are times when violence is justified, or that ‘that person deserved it’.
There needs to be an acknowledgement that all violence has, or can have, very serious consequences, including death and permanent disability. This might seem obvious, but given so many people trivialise, excuse and minimise violence, it appears that this seriousness is often lost.
For example, a senior football journalist recently commented that he thought that Leppitsch being forced to apologise for aggressively grabbing a rookie, means that “the world is marching to the beat of political correctness.”
I don’t know the specifics of that incident, but to suggest that apologising for a violent act is political correctness gone mad is irresponsible and perpetuates the idea that while we agree violence is bad, sometimes it’s justified.
If we no longer accept that violence on a footy field is just ’emotions getting the better of us’ or that it’s ‘just part of the game’, why would we accept the same excuse off the field? It also normalises violence; that it’s something that is inevitable, and something that men don’t have that much control over.
On the weekend of June 13th and 14th, 2015, Step Back Think is running its Lace Up Against Social Violence campaign to raise awareness about this important issue. They are encouraging anyone stepping on to a sporting field that weekend to get involved and register to ‘lace up’ in the Step Back Think orange laces.
This is a great place for clubs to start a conversation with its players about the consequences and causes of social violence. James’ story above exemplifies the consequences of violence – how one punch can change the lives of the person being punched, as well as the person throwing it.
Clubs can also begin to challenge the expectations that young men need to be violent in order to be a real man, or that a real man ‘sticks up for his mates.’ Too often, fights result from men feeling like they’ve been disrespected, and then feeling that if they don’t respond, they’ll be seen as a girl, a fag, or weak. They need to show who’s toughest.
It is these attitudes that drive most of violence I’ve seen or heard of. This is where clubs, particularly at a junior level, can have significant influence. Challenging attitudes and behaviours that condone violence isn’t political correctness gone mad. It is a legitimate way to save lives.
Chris Judd’s response to his situation shows what can happen when people don’t see violence as an option. It might take a long time, but we must make this the norm.
So, please head to the website, and have your club Lace Up against Social Violence.
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