Lessons in Human Nature: A High School Football Game Through the Lens of Hobbesian Philosophy

Since Henry M. Gunn High School (Gunn) and Palo Alto High School (PALY) are rival schools in northern California, fans always show up to support their teams when they play each other. With football being one of the most popular sports in high school, there is already a charged atmosphere. On September 9th, 2022, Gunn hosted a football game against PALY in Palo Alto, California. Predicting that the situation might get out of hand, Gunn school administrators held an assembly with the student body telling all Gunn students that there would not be any unsportsmanlike conduct tolerated, including disrespect to players or fans. People performing these actions will be asked to leave immediately. During the assembly, the administrators demonstrated that they knew the game might get out of hand, that traditional behavioral expectations were still in place, and that everyone involved–including the students–knew these facts. But, what happened at the game that night, clearly illustrates the need for and relevance of even more well-defined philosophical principles, including the social contract theory developed by philosophers like Thomas Hobbes in his Leviathan.   

At least 100 fans stood on both sides when the game started, with people still entering. These fans included not only students but also family and neighborhood residents. Yet, as the game progressed it became clear that the students had not fully embraced the warnings of their school administrators and not fully grasped the consequences that their actions might bring. What happened next demonstrates the accuracy of Hobbes’ analysis of human nature and the absolute necessity for some Social Contract that is meaningful and effective for everyone including the students involved in this incident.  

During the game, students from both schools went to the stands designated for the opposing side, causing a commotion. PALY students on the Gunn side started verbal disagreements, requiring game officials to order students back to their respective school’s stands. However, the cheering and chanting in the student sections continued. With PALY winning against Gunn with a strong lead, the PALY student section decided to storm the Gunn student section when only five minutes remained in the game. In one of the videos posted on YouTube by The PALY Voice, hundreds of PALY students dressed in Green rush over to the Gunn stands. Since the Gunn stands were packed with fans, there was no room left for the PALY students. This meant that the PALY students endangered innocent fans. Reacting quickly, the school administrators and staff immediately stopped the football game, asking fans to return to their respective sides. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but this series of unfortunate events led to the football game ending early. 

At the September 13th school board meeting, the PAUSD (Palo Alto Unified School District) Superintendent Don Austin stated that fans, especially the elderly and young, should not be at risk for injury when in the stands.  Mr. Austin made it clear that such behavior cannot and will not be tolerated and that the consequences for such actions must be sufficient for all students, especially the Paly students, to be strongly motivated to avoid such dangerous choices, exactly what Hobbes might have suggested himself in similar circumstances.

This major transgression on the part of the PALY students was not only bad for PALY; it also involved Gunn students and the entire school district because It showed that these students could endanger others without thinking about the consequences to those other people or about the penalties that might be handed down as a result.  This event damaged the district’s reputation as a whole as well as the schools’ reputations, particularly tragic seeing that Gunn and PALY are known as two of the best public high schools in California. 

Philosopher Thomas Hobbes and his book Leviathan contribute philosophical principles that help people better understand the Gunn versus PALY controversy. Hobbes argues that without government, life would be “solitary, poor, brutish, and short.” He suggests that humans are born to be selfish, greedy, and cruel while trying to dominate others. Hobbes demonstrates that a government will never be perfect in this world, yet he demonstrates the awful truth that more chaos and bloodshed will occur if people go against the imperfect government, explaining why governments are built to prevent such evil deeds. 

Even though what happened at the football game might not be as significant as an event at a national level, it applies Hobbes’s theory on a smaller scale. In this case, the students are the people who live in an imperfect school district that is their government, while the administrators and teachers are supposed to be the leaders of the government. The school district outlined the consequences of unsportsmanlike conduct in its district policies and during assemblies at both schools. The administrators took action when they saw the situation getting out of control. 

Hobbes, Locke, and others argue that people should make use of what is now commonly referred to as the social contract theory. The theory says that, for a government to function in any way, members of society must agree with the government’s rules. For example, the Gunn student section agreed to the rules that were explained to them by the school district. Even though they may not have liked the rules, they understood their reason, and knowing the consequences they would face, they did not cause chaos. The consequences of rebellion outweigh their urge to rebel because rebellion is worse than doing nothing.

On the other hand, the PALY students were not willing to obey the rules since they thought they would not be held accountable for their actions, leading them to rebel. As predicted by the social contract theory, chaos followed when they disobeyed the rule. Although there was no bloodshed, the chaos only brought more unhappiness to the students and added more tension between Gunn and PALY. 

Because of the PALY fans’ rebellion, the school board created more rules with stricter consequences for students who disobey, showing that the government will take action when rebellion threatens safety. PALY students were not allowed to attend any games for the next month, and a few events later in the school year had to be canceled. If this behavior were to continue, PALY students would be told that they would be banned from all sports team competitions for the rest of the year.

This was an unusual and unfortunate event that happened at a football game, but this regrettable event did serve an important function, it demonstrated to the students at both schools that the things they do have consequences. This all goes back to how Thomas Hobbes’s view on human nature and government and the social contract theory can be seen reflected in real-life examples. This time the PAUSD, especially PALY students felt the full effects of that.