Bullying in the NFL: How the Miami Dolphins failed one of their own

NFL players were in fact quick to defend the practice of hazing rookies once this story became public. Former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams said locker-room hazing is in “the nature of the game.” Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen agreed on Tuesday, explaining that it’s “a sign of respect” toward veterans and a “rite of passage” for rookies.

But there comes a point when such actions cross a line. It stops becoming the harmless ‘boys will be boys’ pranks and becomes something else entirely; it becomes abuse tantamount to bullying. Chris Kluwe attested to that on twitter:

That is what seems to have happened in Miami’s locker room. New Orleans Saints tight end Ben Watson believes as much, telling NFL Media’s Andrew Siciliano on Tuesday that the Dolphins’ situation is “the worst I’ve seen and heard… It’s very disturbing, and there’s no place for it in our league.” Former Patriots defensive end Willie McGinest said Tuesday on NFL Network’s “NFL Total Access” that Incognito’s comments were “non-football related” and had “nothing to do with trying to better your teammate.“

Willie Colon also agreed. The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman told the New York Post:

“There’s a line for making a guy earn his rite of passage and then there’s another line of harassing a guy or making him feel degraded…I was always taught [to] respect the practice squad guy to the star guy — treat them all the same. Anytime a guy feels disrespected and feels like he can’t go to work and feel comfortable, you can’t have that in the locker room.”

The way to avoid that line being crossed lies with the veteran members of the football team. The stuff that goes on in the locker room needs to be policed, the way Ray Lewis used to police and lead the Baltimore Ravens locker room. There needs to be at least one enforcer in the dressing room; a man in a leadership role who does not allow things to go too far. Warren Sapp held that position during his playing days in Tampa, as did Willie McGinest in New England.

Leaders, like retired Baltimore Ravens captain Ray Lewis (#52), don’t ever allow the antics in their locker room to cross the line

Every NFL locker room has at least one of those guys, and it is up to them to make sure that things don’t ever go too far. When Rich Gannon saw what was going on in Oakland, he “flipped out” as he put it, letting the players know that what they were doing was unacceptable.

Richie Incognito was in one of those leadership positions in Miami, which makes the whole thing even worse. He sat on the six-player leadership council, and was supposed to be a role model and an ear for the younger players.

But Richie Incognito is not the only one to blame in this drama.

Granted, if what is alleged to have happened is true then Incognito has failed not only Jonathan Martin but the entire team by what he has done. He was a leader in that dressing room and he used that power to mentally beat down on a fellow teammate in a vulnerable position.

But that leadership council consisted of six men, not just Incognito. They are all equally at fault for what has transpired, and they have all let down Jonathan Martin. In fact, every single veteran on Miami’s playing roster who allowed Incognito’s actions to happen and didn’t speak up failed Martin in their silence. Speaking up is the key to stopping bullying, whether it’s on the playground among 6 year olds or in an NFL locker room with grown men.

If Martin endured harassment for an extended period of time and veteran teammates knew about it or observed it, they are enablers, and they are as much at fault as Incognito is. Rich Gannon wouldn’t have let it happen. Warren Sapp wouldn’t have let it happen. Ray Lewis wouldn’t have let it happen.

But the Dolphins players did let it happen, and that is the most discouraging part of this entire saga. An NFL locker room is a brotherhood, and this was one occasion when the family let one brother down. Nobody stood up for Jonathan Martin until he stood up for himself.

Taking the wider picture, this might be a good thing for the sport. Perhaps the culture in NFL locker rooms can finally begin to change from the dumb frat-house culture it has been for so long.

But for now, this is certainly not a good thing for Jonathan Martin. When you become a part of a sports team, you are supposed to stop being ‘me’ and become part of the ‘we’. The Dolphins players made Martin feel like a ‘me’, like an outcast within his own team. No player should have to feel like that. No player should be tormented the way he has been over the last year and a half. No player should have to take abuse, not just of himself but of his family.

There are a lot of people in Miami right now who should feel very, very ashamed of themselves.

There’s a difference between sending a rookie to get some food before a flight or making him carry your pads, and abusing someone.

— Chris Kluwe (@ChrisWarcraft) November 4, 2013