Recently, a major incident took place after a college football game ended at the University of Michigan. Several Michigan State football players allegedly attacked players from the University of Michigan. This rivalry is popular for many reasons. These two schools reside within the state of Michigan, both universities have produced incredible talent, moving a few players to the next level to play at a professional level, and both universities are top-performing academic universities. The level of talent and ability of players at both universities became an afterthought after this tragedy occurred. Sport is not meant to bring about violence; sport was created for different and more positive reasons. Collective trauma was one of the outcomes because of this atrocity that occurred during this football event.
A person goes into the freeze response when she is exposed repeatedly to violence. The freeze response is an evolutionary defense system we inherited from our reptilian ancestors. As mammals, a person may move into an immobile state if she feels overpowered by a predator. The freeze response is a “last resort” behavior a person identifies with to stay alive in the presence of a threat. Freeze responses can occur in groups as well referred to as collective trauma.
Michigan State football players stood frozen as they witnessed four of their teammates brutally attack a defenseless player from the University of Michigan. Collective trauma refers to the psychological reactions to a traumatic event that may impact an entire society (Hirschberger, 2018). Hirschberger insightfully points out that collective trauma presents a threat to a person’s identity. The threat to identity for a person may mean her view of the moral fabric of society is questioned due to witnessing an act by a group that violates human dignity. Even though a person may identify with a certain group, i.e., tradition, or values, the person can reconcile how they can be “part of a group” that would commit such a heinous act against another human(s). A group’s identity may be at odds with a person’s individual identity. Group violence in many cases causes collective trauma.
Sports are meant to create civic engagement and human flourishing. Sports throughout history were developed to create positive reinforcements, helping people avoid environments that may induce trauma. Sports of any kind were designed to instill virtues into young people to bring about the common good. Competition would result in the developing character of humans. Interpersonal effectiveness would also be a focus in sports; performers would be encouraged to be helpful towards their opponents even if they would lose a match, not be hostile towards opponents. Collective trauma could be avoided when communities design sporting organizations appropriately.
Collective trauma promotes violence in sports. The Michigan State players who witnessed the assault take place did not have the tools to manage somatic symptoms. Freeze states leave a person feeling like her body cannot move nor does she feel like they can speak. Sports were not meant to be a vehicle for violence and brutality. Freeze and collapse states of the body leave groups of people attempting to understand their body’s response to abnormal experiences. Since many groups of people do not know how to manage intense experiences, collective trauma persists. Why did no one step in from the Michigan State football team to help the defenseless player from the University of Michigan? What would motivate humans to witness a brutally violent act occur to a human and not stop the violent act? The blame must not be only placed on the players who committed the violent act. Universities that do not adequately support athletes and coaches alike must be held accountable. Ethical violations draw attention to universities that do not educate their athletes to prioritize the dignity of all men, rather than simply pursuing a “win at all costs”. Collective trauma at times may result in a group of athletes witnessing a brutal assault and not identifying skills to stop the assault.
Practical tools to help support your athletes who may have experienced collective trauma:
- Speak to each athlete individually to discuss with them the collective trauma memory, allowing the child to process somatic experiences of the trauma memory.
- Contact sports governing boards to propose new guidelines to ensure psychological safety for the kids.
- Address the hurt in a child after a collective trauma experience, not solve the problem your child is facing.
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Clinical Complex Trauma Specialist (CCTS-1),
Certified Dialectical Behavioral Therapist (C-DBT),
Certified Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counseling (CADC)
