As the story Jonathan Martin/Richie Icognito continues to unfold in the media everyday, the culture of the NFL has suddenly become front and center for the public to scrutinize, and what the public is learning is ugly.
Rookie hazing has been an accepted practice in the NFL. Every year the head shaving, ice baths and stories of rookies being stuck with exorbitant restaurant and bar tabs are played on every sports media outlet. In years have past we would look at these things with a passing glance and occasionally laugh at the ridiculous hair cuts or duct taped rookies on a goal post, but now as the truth of just how far some rookie hazing goes starts to come to light, it is being discovered that these lighthearted pranks go a lot further than the minor pranks we previously were told and shown.
What is the line between simple hazing and bullying or is this a distinction without a difference? What one person may find as acceptable and normal another person may find offensive and rude. What one person may accept another person, as in the case with Martin, may think has gone too far.
Football is a sport deeply rooted in the hegemonic masculinity of our American culture. We have grown up hearing the saying "boys will be boys" as a reason to excuse bad behavior among males. We believe men should "man up" when facing difficulties because "boys don't cry". We expect men to be strong, brave, unemotional and detached and when someone fails to fit into that accepted frame, we accuse them of being "soft".
Repeatedly as this story has been told, the accusations are that Martin is too soft and he needed to man up and knock Icognito out instead of running away. Forget the fact that Icognito had the backing of all his teammates and coaches, Martin was wrong for taking the issue to the media. The media questions his mental stability and refers back to his emotional state, rather than seeing someone fed up with a hostile work environment finally walking away. It is Martin who is seen as wrong, not Incognito. In fact, Incognito's teammates have come to his defense and blame Martin for bringing negative attention to their team.
As the Martin case continues to be revealed, more players are coming forward to admit to being bullied during their rookie days in the league. Former Saints player Cam Cleeland recently came forward to admit he was nearly blinded by a hazing incident during his rookie season with the Saints. The admission by he and other NFL players shows that the hazing practice is widespread and prevalent throughout all of the teams.
Martin has now sued the Dolphins for the actions of Incognito and other players but also for the inaction of coaches and managers to stop the hazing from happening. And with hazing being almost a daily topic as more and more players come forward and more and more details emerging, the NFL can no longer bare silent witness to the behavior. They will be forced to take some type of action to prevent such behavior from occurring again in the future. Otherwise the suit against the Dolphins will be the first of many more for years to come.
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