The Myth of the Violent Athlete
Mitch Abrams
Countering assumptions about anger, aggression and athletics
Dickinson will host a lecture by sports psychologist Mitch Abrams on the realities of anger and violence within sports, the psychological dynamics which contribute to these behaviors and potential tactics for prevention. The talk, “The Myth of the Violent Athlete,” will be held Wednesday, April 20, at 7 p.m. in the Stern Center Great Room.
From O. J. Simpson to Ray Rice to Oscar Pistorius, professional athletes who have been accused of violent acts have been subject of much media attention. Abrams counters the assumption that athletics contributes to anger, aggression and violence. He argues that athletes are not more violent than nonathletes, but there are cultural elements that unevenly promote violence in these individuals and protect them from ramifications. Abrams will discuss the links between violence, athletics and athlete entitlement and what can be done to disassociate these behaviors.
Abrams, a licensed psychologist in New York and New Jersey, is president and founder of Learned Excellence for Athletes, a sports-psychology consulting firm. He also is assistant professor of psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and clinical administrator for University Correctional Health Care, Rutgers. Trained in family violence, the treatment of trauma and anger management, Abrams focusses on clinical, forensic and sport psychology. He is the founder and chair of the Anger & Violence in Sport Special Interest Group within the Association of Applied Sports Psychology. His writing has been featured in The Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Sport Psych Handbook. He is also the author of Anger Management in Sport: Understanding and Controlling Violence in Athletes. Abrams maintains a sports psychology blog, Sports Transgressions, for Psychology Today.
This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Psychology Club, Psi Chi and the Wellness Center. It is also a Clarke Forum student-initiated event.
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Published April 14, 2016