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Joseph Najera
De Piero - Writing 2
4 November, 2015
From Tutus to Lockers: Hazing in Sports
Rookie linemen being left with expensive dinner bills, September call-ups in the MLB
forced to wear a tutu on the next plane ride, new draftees in the NBA forced to carry a doll
around. Hazing is sometimes seen as an inevitable consequence that comes with playing sports,
and many believe that the more you advance in a sport, the more likely hazing is going to occur.
Seen from a sociological standpoint, hazing is performed because it is a strong part of the sports
and masculinity culture that the US promotes; from a psychological standpoint, hazing is viewed
as something that can potentially have a negative and harmful impact on the mental aspect of the
hazee. Certain media outlets, like Vice News, see hazing as a form of bullying that is beginning
to get out of control, and believe it needs to be stopped. Overall, depending on the discipline, an
author must use different moves, conform to different conventions, adhere to certain limitations,
and know their audience so as to better connect to the reader and drive their points home.
Although each genre has different speculations towards hazing, one similarity can be
found between each article that links the genres together at a level deeper than just the topic. The
use of first-hand accounts from those who have been hazed are found throughout and serve as an
important basis for the arguments of each. These first-hand accounts help to expand the argument
of each piece, employing a tactic called ethos that was covered in an article entitled Steps
towards Rhetorical Analysis by Laura Carroll. The technique of ethos is utilized to [help the
reader] trust the [authors] credibility and to believe the messages they send (Caroll 47). The
reader then sees each author as more credible and is thus more likely to believe and support the
authors claim.

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The sociological article entitled Making the Team: Threats to Health and Wellness
within Sport Hazing Cultures, by Jessica Chin and Jay Johnson, was posted within the
International Journal of Health, Wellness & Society. Its main focus is centered on why hazing
occurs, believing that the culture of American Sports is the main culprit for the recurrences of
hazing across the country. All throughout the article, the authors use various moves, or specific
actions and techniques, that allow them to effectively argue their point.
To begin, there is a constant call-to-action theme that is present throughout the paper
that works in various ways. By the authors offering a variety of ways by which [a policy on
hazing] can be successfully implemented (Chin, Johnson 33), this helps give the paper a sense
of so-what, and doesnt leave readers pondering questions like Hazing is bad, but now what do
I do now? after theyre done reading. This also ties in with the audience and their expectations
for a piece like this. Those reading a Sociology paper about hazing and its culture are likely to be
interested in why hazing happens, and what can be done to prevent future incidents. Thus, the
call-to-action coincides with the audiences expectations of learning why hazing occurs, as well
as providing a solution or two that the reader can take with them.
Chin and Johnson also use a move of expansion, or elaborating on the different types of
hazing that can occur, within their paper to show how big of a problem hazing actually is.
Through examples and references, Chin and Johnson demonstrate that While [hazing is]
historically associated with fraternity pranks and rites of passage for group membership, over
time they have been adopted within other realms of team-based activities (military, sports teams,
e.g.) and have increased in both number and variety (Allan & Madden, 2008; Nuwer, 1999;
Waldron & Kowalski, 2009) (Chin, Johnson 30). Showing that hazing is confined to more than
just sports, Chin and Johnson view hazing as a result of the social reproduction of the sport

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culture, that expands to [the] sport/university/cultural organization (Chin, Johnson 31). The
authors then begins to indicate how bad of a problem hazing has become as fraternities, sororities
and even the military have been known to experience hazing in the past. Expansion also provides
the reader with more examples which may lead to the reader establishing a better connection
with one example than they would with another, causing the point to be driven home more than it
normally would if just one example had been given.
Differing from the sociological view of hazing, psychology views hazing as an event that
can sometimes bring about negative impacts that are severe enough to leave the hazee
traumatized for extended lengths of time. In the psychological research paper Crossing the
Line by Jennifer Waldron and Christopher Kowalski, the psychological impacts of hazing and
why some athletes still feel the need to participate in hazing are looked at closely. Waldron and
Kowalskis data was gathered from interviewing twenty-one athletes who reported being hazed
during their time in high school and/or collegiate sports.
With the interviews from each individual athlete being recorded via video and lasting for
extended amounts of time, the psychologists had a lot of data to present. Yet serving at the base
of their argument, Waldron and Kowalski were able to separate their data into 455 data chunks
producing 44 categories, 7 lower order themes, and 2 higher order themes (Waldron &
Kowalski 295). The manner in which they organized these findings is an important move that
allows the paper to flow and stay cohesive. Using easy to read charts, separate subheadings, and
individualized paragraphs that are easy for the reader to pick up on, this move helps to showcase
the importance that lies within each subtopic by using visual aids that stand out while reading.
This gives the authors the ability to convey information more precisely than before, while still
taking up less space on the page. The precision comes in the form of laying out what each point

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is, and being as direct as possible while supporting the claim with charts and visual aids. Serving
as an important move in the scope of the entire paper, the authors are able to show how much
data theyve collected-proving that their research was thorough and well done-yet are still able to
not overwhelm the reader with information.
Hazing is more than just a scholarly issue, and has thus been the topic of many news
outlets across the country. One such outlet is Vice News, an internet-based company that takes
pride in covering events that arent as well known. The Vice news article entitled Inside an Elite
High School's Culture of Hazing and Bullying by Danielle Elliot covers a story from early 2015
in which a young boy in High School stepped in to defend his classmate and soon become the
target of the harassment instead.
Being considered a non-scholarly piece of writing, this article is able to perform moves
that the other papers are unable to incorporate because it would go against the conventions of
their genre. One move--that isnt even text based--that results in a huge amount of effectiveness,
are the pictures that the author chose to include all throughout the article. Drawn by Maddison
Bond, the pictures focus on specific parts of the article and serve as a way to indicate which parts
of the story are more important. They also serve as a way to communicate a topic by showcasing
that topic through art, rather than just describing it. And because some of the pictures do have a
shock value (the images recreate certain scenarios that are a bit explicit), the reader may be better
adept to visualizing the struggle that the author is trying to reiterate throughout.
Another move that is specific to this genre, is the storytelling that Elliot is allowed to do
as she begins the article with the entire story of hazing so that the reader may have some
background and wont be completely lost while reading. And context is one of the most
important places to begin a rhetorical assault on the reader as One of the first places to start is

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context. Rhetorical messages always occur in a specific situation or context (Carroll 4). As
mentioned in Steps towards Rhetorical Analysis, the use of quotes, narration, and some
background all establish a background story that sets up the rest of the paper as well. Not only is
it a building tool, but the story also works as an anecdote and a hook, immediately drawing a
reader in as it dives straight into the encounter.
Because of the conventions specific to each genre, each genre attracts a different type of
audiences. This is evident with the differences between the two academic papers and the Vice
News Article. Each genre is effective in its own way because the audiences of both are looking
for specific, familiar conventions that separates each genre from the rest. For example, someone
who were to be reading Vice News would generally be someone younger who probably spends a
good amount of time on the internet. This person would generally be someone who isnt a huge
fan of structure or too many rules, likes pictures to break up the sometimes dense reading, and
generally doesnt really like censorship. And because of the freedom that is available within this
genre, the Vice News article is able to be more effective when reaching out to this audience
because it is allowed to use foul language so as to get a point across, can have pictures that spark
different emotions, and can follow any format the author chooses really.
On the other hand, the academic articles would appeal successfully to a different kind of
audience than would the Vice article. Those reading a scientific journal, or astute magazine filled
with writings from nobel laureates prefer the structure and professionalism that is the norm
within the genre of scholarly articles. A reader from this audience would come to expect the
structure that is present in research papers. If an article were to stray from this convention, the
reader would be likely be displeased with the jumbled mess presented before them. Also, the
reader may like the citations that are present throughout every academic paper, because it

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provides a sense of ethos and credibility to the paper theyre reading. The article Navigating
Genres by Kerry Dirk helps to elaborate on the importance of knowing who the audience is.
Dirk begins by mentioning that this was my first time writing an essay to you, a composition
student and because of this, she must figure out certain things like what features...should go
into this essay or How personal could I get? (250). Dirks process of writing shows that when
knowing the audience, the author is able to know their expectations and in turn, can establish a
better connection, allowing points to be driven.
In the end, moves and how each author goes about writing for a specific genre varies like
fishing for different fish. In order to catch a specific type of fish, you need to know what fish you
want, which lure or tactic to use, and where you should cast. When writing for a different genre,
you must know your audience (know what fish you want), you must formulate a plan on how to
reel in the audience (pick your lure), and you must try different moves until the paper is able to
successfully communicate its point (cast in different locations until you catch one). Overall,
writing for different genres, even when covering the same topic, requires a change in approach
and a different set of goals that must be accomplished in order to successfully argue the point.
Citations
Carroll, Laura Bolin. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis."
Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct.
2015.
Chin, Jessica, and Jay Johnson. "Making the Team: Threats to Health and Wellness within
Sport Hazing Cultures." International Journal of Health, Wellness & Society 1.2 (2011):
29-38. Print.

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Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. By Charles

Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag. Print.
Elliot, Danielle. "Inside an Elite High School's Culture of Hazing and Bullying | VICE
Sports." VICE Sports RSS. 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
Waldron, Jennifer, and Christopher Kowalski. "Crossing the Line."Research Quarterly
for Exercise and Sport 80.2 (2013). Print.