Do sports really prevent youth violence?

While the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention cites lack of funding for sports programs as the number two reason for violence among youth, other research disputes that sports necessarily have this positive effect. Student Elias De Leon writes, "That got me thinking about my own experience playing defense on my high school football team. In my first game, I hit a player so hard it sent him flying in the air. I was surprised, but also excited -- I felt the rush of being on a battlefield, the aim to take down the other team and stop its run." Youth Radio and GOOD Magazine collaborated to produce this info graphic that challenges the popular belief that involvement in team sports reduces violence among young people.