Chapter 4: The 10,000 ft View: A Global Analysis of the Impact(s) of Hazing Legislation

There is little doubt that sport is an integral part of the social, political and economic fabric of countries worldwide. Governments allocate significant resources for sport governing bodies in the quest to be well represented at Olympic Games; they subsidise sport organisations for sport development at local, regional and national levels; they give tax breaks to corporate sport organisations. These represent a small sample in the ways by which governments ‘participate’ in the advancement of sport with the intent of increasing their local and global profile. However, the quest for this image can serve as a barrier to challenging traditions that expose a dark side of sport. This chapter acknowledges that hazing is one of these traditions. The protection of a desired image further adds to the complexities of dealing with hazing at a legislative level since the preponderance of sport hazing is in the more commercialised sports such as hockey, football and basketball (Fogel & Quinlan, 2023). The purpose of this chapter will be to provide samples of worldwide legislation, a determination of effectiveness and an analysis of potential for legislative value when applied to sport.