Should More Athletes Join the Anti-Bullying Movement?

by SodaHead Sports Posted 2011/10/21 15:00:00

Related Topics: Sports, Bullying, NFL, NBA, Wrestling, WWE, Mick Foley, Ufc, MMA, Rocky Johnson, Dan Severn, Wrestler, Lebron James, Tom Brady, Legend, New York, Author, Action

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213 votes
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	Yes	170 votes	80%
	No	43 votes	20%

On Thursday night, stars from sports and entertainment gathered at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, New York City for the "Bullying...We're Kickin' It" anti-bullying event.

The event boasted big names such as MMA media executive Mike Straka, recording artist Kevin Rudolf, Bellator MMA fighter Phillipe Nover, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn, and pro wrestling legend/best-selling author Mick Foley.

Many athletes have taken a stance against bullying, particularly in combat sports and individual sports. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) established the "Be A Star" campaign, that has earned great praise. Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Impact Wrestling created "Eliminate The Hate." MMA legends Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock teamed up with actor Holt McCallany earlier this year to spotlight bullying in schools and how it can/should be prevented.

"I'd like to see more sports leagues take a stand against bullying," said Nick Incatasciatio of The Sports Courier, who was in attendance Thursday night covering the event. "MMA fighters, pro wrestlers, we even have Real Housewives! It definitely wouldn't hurt to see LeBron James or Tom Brady at one of these events here and there."

+13

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☠Marz555☠ 2011/10/21 07:03:30

Yes

+8
If I remember... The jocks were the bullys in my school, It's no wonder why they aren't jumping right in for that extra minute of fame.
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More polls by SodaHead Sports

FreeThinkingLibertarian 2011/11/06 13:40:47
metalmania17 2011/10/26 21:52:16

No

+1
Americans used to be...

But now there turning into a bunch of...

Grow up and get a set of these...

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Untouched 2011/10/25 13:39:33

Yes

tho they do it for publicity....but yeah...
being bullied sux...

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joe mauro 2011/10/24 20:59:58

Yes

however
t they along with entertainers are the biggest haters of the challlengened among us,the entertainment industry via shos like two and half men sat night live etc actually encourage bullying by making it call tolaugh at the handicappped episodes like this encourcage and reward ptrdjuice and hate when maeness is cool nothing is geniune except hate

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Ben 2011/10/24 20:03:59

No

They need to do what they are paid to do, play sports. Leave it to me to teach my son about bullying. PSAs do nothing except generate a laugh.

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Junior-BN-0 2011/10/24 19:11:39

Yes

I normally don't like name calling, but bullies to me are cowards, and the more that stand up to them, the bullying crowd will back down.

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Student 2011/10/24 16:27:31

Yes

+1
High school athletes and cheerleaders should realize that paticipation in athletics and cheerleading is NOT a right,but a privelege that when misused,can and should be taken away!!!! An athlete or a cheerleader has to realize,that they have a lot more at stake,than a classmate from the "Trailer Park",whom is a "BULLY" full time,and will wind up as a future criminal,or a best,a "Welfare Rat"!!!! Those are the students whom should realize the consequences of "Bully Type Behavior",such as being denied admission to school dances,which include the "Winter Formals" and the "Senior Prom"!!!! Students whom engage in bullying should also have their disiplinary files made available to prospective comunity colleges;universities,;and tech schools,so the Dean Of Admissions can deny those students admission,based upon their "Anti-Social" behavior!!!! Comunity Colleges for example,do NOT tolerate bullying because a good percentage of the student body,especially the evening classes are adults,and they will not tolerate childish behavior!!!! When these group of student realize that they have "More To Lose" than a lot of their classmates,then a lot of bullying type behavior will stop!!!!

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LittleBrothers_Better 2011/10/24 12:41:01
Dolly 2011/10/24 11:59:04

Yes

+1
we need less violence in this world and more peace.

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strawberry 2011/10/24 05:21:27

Yes

Athletes, especially famous pro sport athletes should do TV commercials about bullying, they would be very effective.

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DavidK to strawberry 2011/10/24 06:16:17 (edited)

+1
Here's a great one to take care of bullies!

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garyt212 2011/10/24 04:00:12 (edited)

Yes

+1
Yeah, they should encourage our youth to stop being a bunch of namby pamby crybabies! The wussification of America is pathetic! Kids will be kids and they need to learn how to cope with real life and grow up, that's what life is all about. Bullying crap is nothing more than a bunch of PC BS!

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smitty to garyt212 2011/10/24 13:14:36

Have you seen the pro football players lately? Talk about namby pamby.

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Toby 2011/10/24 03:47:46

Yes

+1
Who the hell voted no? Seriously? EVERYONE should be on board with anti-bullying

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smitty to Toby 2011/10/24 13:31:11

+1
Why? I voted no. Bullies only think about themselves. They don't care what Tom Brady thinks.

Besides... Parents are the ones who need to be less worried about little Jimmy getting into trouble for defending himself.

Get a parent lazy butt off the couch and enroll the kid in some type of martial arts class. Not only will they know how to defend themselves is good for exercise and a huge confidence builder.

Every night at dinner I ask my girls how school went. Did you learn anything new? We go around the table. Next I ask who they ate lunch with and if they met any new friends. That is how I found out one of them was being bullied. She tried to ignore her but it didn't work and things progressed deeper. Multiple calls to the school. Finally I gave her boxing lessons. One day she stood up for herself. Fortunately there was no fisticuffs involved. I had to take off work to go see the principle. I told him exactly how it worked. My kids were not going to pushed around by another person. I told them to defend themselves if they needed to. He said that fighting in school would not be tolerated. I said that's fine an admirable. I told him the bullying of my kids would not be tolerated either and we will deal with whatever the punishment would be. She has 2 days off ...

Why? I voted no. Bullies only think about themselves. They don't care what Tom Brady thinks.

Besides... Parents are the ones who need to be less worried about little Jimmy getting into trouble for defending himself.

Get a parent lazy butt off the couch and enroll the kid in some type of martial arts class. Not only will they know how to defend themselves is good for exercise and a huge confidence builder.

Every night at dinner I ask my girls how school went. Did you learn anything new? We go around the table. Next I ask who they ate lunch with and if they met any new friends. That is how I found out one of them was being bullied. She tried to ignore her but it didn't work and things progressed deeper. Multiple calls to the school. Finally I gave her boxing lessons. One day she stood up for herself. Fortunately there was no fisticuffs involved. I had to take off work to go see the principle. I told him exactly how it worked. My kids were not going to pushed around by another person. I told them to defend themselves if they needed to. He said that fighting in school would not be tolerated. I said that's fine an admirable. I told him the bullying of my kids would not be tolerated either and we will deal with whatever the punishment would be. She has 2 days off school. We went to each teacher and got 2 days worth of studies. She has not be bullied since (2 years). School is a much more pleasant experience for her.

No one needs some athlete when they have parents at home. If you as a parent do not want to get involved in your kids lives when they need you the most. Why did you even have them? (not necessarily directed at you)
(more)

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Toby to smitty 2011/10/24 17:11:48

+1
I fully intend to teach my kids the same sort of things one day , but I just don't see why not have everyone possible on board with the anti bully campaigns

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smitty to Toby 2011/10/24 17:38:57 (edited)

+1
Nothing wrong with it if is sincere. A lot of what I see with pro athletes is publicity and that is it. They want hollywierd. Then we lose focus of the real issue and wonder why things are like they are.

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Untouched to smitty 2011/10/25 13:36:39

+1
you're a dream dad. lucky daughter ;)

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smitty to Untouched 2011/10/25 19:00:19

+1
Thanks. They don't always think so. I didn't have a father growing up so I guess I over do it with them.

I said I do and for better or worse. That applies to my wife and kids and their kids if I am so lucky. As a man in this world it is the least we can do.

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Untouched to smitty 2011/10/27 12:08:07

+1
i agree with you ;) :D

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Ian to Toby 2011/10/27 12:50:54

And if they are not on board, lets beat them up.

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laRonde 2011/10/24 01:55:13

Yes

+1
But only if they're into the cause... if they don't care, nobody else will

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EDWARD G 2011/10/24 01:43:57

Yes

Especially since a lot of bullies at my school were athletes. On the other hand, I have never looked at jocks as role models. Maybe it's just as well they don't show.

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jrtmanmd 2011/10/24 01:35:57

No

+2
That's all about learning how to deal with life! I had my bullies as I grew up, I've learned from them, made me a stronger person, now I have no bullies. Parents need to be parents, and kids need to be kids.

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garyt212 to jrtmanmd 2011/10/24 04:06:40

+1

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bullet 2011/10/23 21:00:51

No

+2
remember the (fat) big kid on youtube that was getting bullied.... He body slammed the kid and everything was fine until the parents found out about the youtube video. haven't heard what happened but that kid got what was coming to him. He should have also got his ass spanked when he got home...Parents are to blame 90% of the time. This politically correct crap is just what it is .. crap

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garyt212 to bullet 2011/10/24 04:09:15
smitty to bullet 2011/10/24 13:32:38

I believe the parent of the bully was shocked. I think the bully got his butt slammed by the kid and he got his butt slammed by his mom too. If I remember correctly she was not happy with her kid.

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moorrbrt1 "In God we Trust" 2011/10/23 20:58:50

Yes

+3
It's a good thing to try and reduce bullying, but I think this is more of a gay issue than anything else.

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strawberry to moorrbr... 2011/10/24 05:25:13

+1
Bullying is not mainly a gay issue. Bullying, especially in jr. high school was done to anyone on a daily basis. Pro athletes should get on TV promoting anti bullying to anyone. They would set a great example.

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moorrbr... to strawberry 2011/10/27 21:43:02

+1
Then, why is it just now becoming an issue? I was picked on regularly when I was growing up, because I was so small. Personally, I don't believe anyone should be bullied for any reason, but it does seem to be part of growing up. The more different you are from whatever is considered the norm, the more you're picked on.

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strawberry to moorrbr... 2011/10/28 05:52:20 (edited)

+1
There was too much bullying in schools in the 1960's. Often a few teachers were bullies. No one was immune to bullying, and now when I think back a few guys bullied girls also. I was bullied by certain guys, who today would be in a lot of trouble. We let things go back then, but if that happened to me today I would have reported them. Jr. High guys were terrible bullies mainly to girls. You are right it was not an issue years ago, should have been. I watched too many teens hurt by bullying. A guy was bullied for a book he was reading, an intelligent book. Everything was a competition. What clothes you wore, etc.

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moorrbr... to strawberry 2011/10/30 22:21:17

+1
In some ways it's a part of life. Unfortunate, yes. Should be curbed, but it will never be stopped. Too much a part of human nature. I grew up in the 70's and it was still going strong. Here it is, another century, and it's still being done. When it turns to violence, then the law should become involved. Unfortunately, people are usually forced to deal with it themselves. A good punch in the nose works wonders.

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strawberry to moorrbr... 2011/10/31 02:24:20

+1
It is true about a good punch in the nose. When my son was in jr. high, one guy would knock my son's books from his hands. One day my son let him have a good punch, which ended that bullying. Sometimes schools could punish the kid who fought back physically, which is not fair. They could call it assault.

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moorrbr... to strawberry 2011/11/01 22:17:14

+1
When my girls were young, I tried to teach them to defend themselves. One day my youngest was suspended from the bus for a few days. She said a boy had touched her bottom and that she had hit him in the nose with her elbow like I showed her and it made him bleed. When I started laughing she said, "It won't funny dad. He was bleeding bad!" lol
It's unfortunate that people are often punished for standing up for themselves.

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strawberry to moorrbr... 2011/11/03 02:15:03

+1
That is injustice.! I gave one good punch to a guy on the school bus, almost knocked him out. His friends had to help him off the bus. Back then school bus drivers never paid attention to much what students were doing on the school bus. Guys would open back emergency exist, throwing cherry bomb fire crackers on the road in front of cars. It was dangerous riding school buses.

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moorrbr... to strawberry 2011/11/03 22:34:17

I was fortunate to never have to ride the bus to and from school. A lot of my family lived in the same neighborhood and one of the parents would always pick all the kids up and carry us to school.
My neighborhood was somewhat dangerous. There was a lot of racial tension in Henderson. Still is. Black kids were usually afraid to walk though our neighborhood, at least alone, and whites were afraid to walk through black neighborhoods. We use to have curfews occasionally when tensions were high. Never have understood hate over the color of someone's skin.

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AdelePotter 2011/10/23 20:04:09

Yes

EVERYONE does, but if pro athletes joined the movement, the jocks who worship them would, too, and honestly, that would take care of half the problem. Now, if only we could get a bratty celebrity to join and inspire the mean girls.

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onabeach to AdelePo... 2011/10/24 05:59:35

"...and honestly, that would take care of half the problem"

I wouldn't go that far. Every group has their bullies. Just since jocks are generally the most popular, they have the most targets, since bullies only pick on people *lower* then them. But my mom was a special ed teacher, and I know from her school's students who became my classmates in high school, that the ones bullying the special ed students were always losers (later pothead and dropouts) or nerds (the not-so-smart ones).

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Wiseman27 2011/10/23 19:42:27

No

Pro athletes are annoying enough as is, why would they bother joining a movement that doesn't even know how to go about achieving it's goals?

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