Is there a legal loophole that allows violence in sports (like boxing)?

[brentspeak]

Ordinarily, physical assault is a crime. But in boxing, two guys are allowed to bash each other to bloody pulps. Same with football, same with hockey. And at these sporting events, cops are all over the place.

[William769]

1. Yes there is a legal loophole

Stupidity.

[MindPilot]

2. probably the same legal theory that allows cops

to pump 80 rounds into a guy who was reaching for his wallet. :shrug:

[sir_captain]

3. consent

no one involved is going to press charges, so the police would have to do it, and they're only going to do it in egregiouis cases

and anyway, as long as you're not one of the boxers or football players, who cares? these are grown men (and women, in boxing) and they're choosing to do this, so what's the problem?

[jmm]

4. I've always wondered the same thing about porn

The only difference between porn and prostitution is a camera. I'm waiting for someone to get arrested for prostitution and claim they were researching a film role.

[sir_captain]

6. Courts in CA

decided that porn was protected by the first amendment so long as it wasn't obscene. Obviously, this brings into question what is obscene. With that said, at least the porn industry has health standards.

[Kagemusha]

5. If you didn't know, boxing has boxing commissions

and these commissions are charged with regulating events in a given state. If an event is officially sanctioned by a commission, it is considered legal. I would not sink to calling this a "loophole". Boxing was illegal in the US for many years. It has tenuous legal footing; if Congress (due to say, John McCain) revoked the relevant laws then boxing would immediately revert to what it was before.

Research the history of American football prior to the reforms of 1905 and you'll see it was completely unregulated college activity little safer than the unregulated fencing that went on in Austrian universities. People died. And it was accepted, for a time. Tribal mentality for you.

Again, a legal veneer of respectability was placed over these sports in return for regulation and especially, organized refereeing and safety measures.