what sports are frownd upon by the WT

rockmehardplace

i joined a gym recently an.d the instructor was telling me that i would be good at starting out with some boxing due to my size and speed and previous experience prior to being a jw. i am not sure at my age if i want to start that up and i am sure that as i fade, that it would not be in my best interest to draw unneccesary attention to myself. but it led me to thinking.

in the USA, we are told that some sports are violent and should not be viewed. i have heard specifically boxing, wrestling, martial arts. i have heard hang gliding, bungee jumping and cliff diving as well. it has been hinted by WT pictures that auto racing would be in that field, although many a jw, especially in the south, love nascar racing. football has been mentioned as well but we know how jw's feel and live for american football. in fact, i dare say, saturday field service is followed by college football, and sunday meetings is followed by pro football in the fall.

around the world, what other sports are considered a no-no? for example, what of rugby? soccer?

QuestioningEverything

American Football-violent

Basketball-competitive

blondie

*** w02 8/15 p. 29 Do You Remember? ***

The violent and deadly gladiatorial events of the Roman Empire have been compared to what modern spectator sports?A recent exhibit in the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, suggested modern parallels by including video clips of bullfighting, professional boxing, auto and motorcycle races, and spectator fights at other modern sports events. Early Christians took to heart that Jehovah does not love violence or violent ones, and neither should Christians today. (Psalm 11:5)—6/15, page 29.

rockmehardplace

blondie, thanks. that was the article that came to mind. it specifically mentioned auto races. the congo that i am currently fading from has a large number of people who love auto racing. they even have a group of brothers who go each year to different tracks. the sunday meeting is always about half the attendance when that race is happening.

i always wonder how sports like rugby are viewed? i would classify that with american football, although i know it is much tougher than american football

thanks for finding the article for me.

blondie

I believe this proves that the WTS views rugby as violent and dangerous:

*** g90 1/8 p. 28 Watching the World ***

RUGBY
SPINAL
INJURIES
In a recent 23-year period, one hospital in South Africa handled 88 cases of young men who sustained acute spinal injuries while playing Rugby football. Rugby injuries are sometimes caused by the flying tackle, though this usually lacks the violent impact of the American football tackle. Another danger is the scrum, that is, when players of opposing teams are locked together in a tight mass, and shove for possession of the ball. "The scenario occurs all too frequently," reports the SouthAfricanMedicalJournal. "The scrum collapses and, as the players get up from the ground, one player lies motionless. First-aid personnel rush onto the field and carefully place the injured player on the stretcher and transport him to a hospital. His neck is broken, the spinal cord injured and he remains permanently quadriplegic." In 1989 three South African schoolboys were killed while playing Rugby.

WTWizard

Most sports are classified as too dangerous or too violent (or both). Even something like baseball and basketball take lots of time that "should be used for field circus". And there is the competitiveness--the witlesses do not like anything where there can be a winning or losing team or player.

About all they leave in as possibilities are things like cross country skiing, walking and hiking (on easy trails), riding a bicycle, and sailboating. Of course, they stress that one needs to do all things primarily for field circus, so virtually any sport is frowned on by the Washtowel.