Opinion

Others view dodgeball as the height of academic fun and growth. Larry Alex Taunton from USA TODAY says, “Dodgeball is about becoming an adult, it's good exercise, and it teaches our kids how to be tough. Calling it oppression reflects America's decline.” For his class, dodgeball was often a reward after good participation and hard work. He also explains that dodgeball doesn’t rank in Priceonomics top ten dangerous sports; there were only rules to prevent injuries such as making headshots illegal. He concluded saying, “Surely this marks the beginning of the end of Western civilization. What is to become of us?”

Personally, I agree with Alex Taunton. Dodgeball is one of the best sports to play in gym class. It’s one of the most simple and accessible games to play that encourages self reliance, toughness, perseverance and athletic growth. I have never experienced any circumstance where unathletic children were targeted. In fact, the more athletic you are, the more you are targeted because you will stay in the game longer, which makes you more of a threat to the other team. This is what encourages athletic growth because the better you get at dodgeball, the more you get to play it.

I completely disagree with Neil Williams when he stated, “The main objective is to attempt to inflict pain, harm, injury, and embarrassment on one’s opponents, and have a good laugh doing it.” I have never had any experience with someone actually being harmed to any extent during dodgeball. As for pain, a rare headshot with a rubber ball may cause lasting pain and soreness. However, headshots are illegal and are never intentional. In addition, dodgeball is mainly played with foam balls today. The odds of someone getting injured are slim to none, especially when compared with other gym sports. Floor hockey for example has careless kids and teenagers swinging wildly with wooden sticks as hard as they can at a ball. I have a scar above my eye to prove this fact. If the hockey stick had been slightly lower midswing, it could have resulted in severe eye damage. Comparing this to getting hit with a foam ball shows how thin of a line this argument is standing on.

As for the inflicting ‘embarrassment on one's opponents’ statement, this is not confined only to dodgeball. Any activity where there is a winner and a loser can result in embarrassment. It's simply the nature of the game. Most kids aren’t cruel or a bully. However, if someone is using dodgeball as an excuse to laugh at or make fun of people, that doesn’t mean that dodgeball should be banned. The behavior would be at fault, not dodgeball. It is the responsibility of parents, coaches, and physical education teachers to ensure that this behavior is not tolerated in any sport.

Despite these arguments in favor of dodgeball, it’s reputation is still on the decline as well as it’s inclusion in school physical education. As for whether these results are justified, that will depend on who you ask. However, what is for sure is that dodgeball will never entirely vanish. It will be forever immortalized through books, movies and memories of these past generations.