Bullying and Men’s Sports
November 13, 2013
Can pro-sports play a role in anti-bullying measures? http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/11/12/nfl-bullying-incognito-martin-miami-dolphins-column/3510439/
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CJS-360 Diversity Issues 
The episode of Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin can be interpreted in a few ways, and is by those of us who have heard it. On the one hand you have bullying, and the race card which was clearly rolled in by the author. The racial epithets left by Incognito on Martin’s voicemail would certainly indicate that was a factor, and whether that was for “noble reasons” or not there is nothing noble about it. It is unacceptable and has no place in society (That means certain groups shouldn’t call themselves certain things, either though…). The other thing that should be considered here is that these are grown men. Jonathan Martin is a big guy just like Incognito. He should be able to stand up to him and the problem should be dealt directly between men. I do believe this notion to an extent, except there is a problem with that. In the days after the incident it is clear that the majority of the NFL from coaches to players are incompetent (or pretend to be incompetent) on the environment in an NFL locker room, or they back Incognito. Incognito is an established veteran, a good, tough player while Martin is a rookie who isn’t as established, not as good, and not as tough. So in that regard, Martin was largely isolated. This ganging up mentality is prevalent in several aspects of life. School yard bullies and/or groups of friends against smaller, weaker individuals, police subculture where an officer may want to do the right thing but be intimidated by his corrupt and established superiors. Race has to be considered as well obviously, but it should also be mentioned that black players from other teams sided with Incognito and ripped Martin for going public with this as “some things should be kept in house” and exposing it gets both him and Incognito off the field, which hurts the team’s chances to win. To answer the premise of the article I think there should be a culture change in professional sports, but I don’t think that effect would extend much beyond that, and any change in culture would be very difficult to implement. To an extent, football is “a tough man’s game and you have to earn respect.”
Hi Andrew, I agree with you that there were probably players who agreed with both sides, but the issue seems to be the behavior and the way it was dealt with. I also agree that the behavior is unacceptable and has no place in professional athletics. These are all grown men and they should start behaving like it. How can we expect children to learn to deal with conflict in a mature, respectful way when grown men who are in the public eye are not able to do so? The other issue disturbing about this is that the bully was in a more powerful position than his target, that included his veteran status, as well as his race. Good post!
Bullying is not a new phenomenon. In fact it is our history. The dictionary definition of bullying is to use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants. Let’s look at American history Europeans traveled to North American and then eventually created settlements. They either killed off the native inhabitants or converted them in the name of religion (Christianity). This was also the case when slaves were brought to America. The ideals of religion was the mode for which bullying took place.
With this current bullying incident in the NFL the question is, can pro-sports play a role in anti-bullying measures? I would say yes on a surface temporary level. Bullying is built into the fabric of our history and is going to take more than a simple public professional sports initiative to drastically change bullying.
When I see the Martin and Incognito bullying case it makes me shiver. It makes me feel this way because the kids that are getting bullied themselves see it and think that if a big strong football player is getting bullied, what hope do they have. It just shows that bullying doesn’t just occur amongst kids in school like it usually does, it is a problem in all aspects of life. What the NFL can do is try to promote a change just like schools are, with the speak up mentality. What makes it different is that these are grown men playing a sport that revolves around aggression and can be synonymous with bullying. Like a corner back dominating a wide receiver could be seen as bullying, but in a good way because it’s his job. Not saying bullying is ever good, but in the football culture, it’s associated as a good thing if you can dominate your opponent. There is also a hierarchy within the locker room where rookies are sometimes mistreated by the veterans. It could be something as simple as carrying the pads of veteran players or paying for dinner for the team. In this case it was a combination of verbal bullying and taking advantage of Martin financially. I think it is important for players to remember that they are role models. They need to show that bullying is not tolerated are they risk damaging what schools across the country are trying to accomplish when it comes to stopping bullying.
I understand that Incognito is way out of bounds with his behavior and deserves to be suspended. I agree with martin’s decision to seek refuge away from the team, and I believe that Martin in no way deserved any of the things Incognito said to Martin. I feel that Incognito suffers from repressed issues and could most likely benefit from psychological help.
I can see a positive side to this story in terms of youth football fans, they are able to observe what has taken place between Incognito and Martin and take witness to what the end results and outcomes are from what has happened.
The youth will also be able to gain knowledge in what is considered to be unacceptable behavior on ones part and take this knowledge and implement and utilize it in the real world in terms of their own behavior with when interacting with teammates, friends, classmates, peers, and co-workers.
In addition, from this they will gain the ability to recognize when this type of situation is occurring around them and possibly stand up for another person who is being victimized by a “bully”.
I think a lot what’s seen in the NFL isn’t anything new. It’s the continuation of what starts from a young age where athletes are expected to be macho people fueled by anger and testosterone. These same athletes aren’t paid to be intelligent or able to communicate at a professional level. They are paid for a persona and performance on the field.
Incognito seems to be a massive joke of a person due to comments like: “No matter how bad and how vulgar it sounds, that’s how we communicate,” he told Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer. “That’s how our friendship was.” – http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/10/us/richie-incognito-interview/index.html
His immaturity continued even to others in the organization: “Incognito and at least one other player “mocked the ethnic background of a team staff member and made crude jokes about the staff member’s wife,” the report stated. Furthermore, the behavior reportedly occurred in front of other members of the Dolphins’ staff but was not curtailed.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/20/3764639/miami-dolphins-center-mike-pouncey.html
The issue with Incognito and Martin, while unfortunate, I think is symptomatic of larger issues concerning modern society and its inability to handle conflict. While Incognito’s actions can be viewed in the light of classic “bullying”, why isn’t it being framed in the context of harassment? If the racial epithets are genuine and death threats are legitimate, why is there no criminal prosecution for terroristic threats or hate crimes? Is it because there are no crimes, but instances of two men unable to handle social expectations?
By framing the context of Martin as a victim of bullying, I believe enfeebles a capable adult into a child defenseless from the ridicule of a poorly parented brat. These are grown professionals, able to think maturely and articulate their thoughts and opinions, and are expected to resolve personal conflict on their own without the weight of the national media and public opinion adjudicating the situation for them.
If we believe that saying mean things and socially pressuring people to action equates to bullying, then the realm politics, the entertainment industry, the military, social activists, and most workplaces, are guilty of doing just that. We all deal with bullies in our lives, whether it’s a family member as a child or your boss as an adult, social dominance is the darker side of man’s nature we have been battling since the concept of social classes. We have established a criminal code to prosecute the worst of these offenses and civil litigation to cover the rest.
If we believe that Martin is really a victim of either a crime or has a basis for civil action, it is his responsibility to pursue that. When instead society advocates and pursues judgment by condemning Martin’s perpetrator for him, then we victimize him again by taking away his ability to construct his own justice.
If we believe, instead, that Martin is the target of “bullying”, then we make him a coward by demanding action for him, by reasoning that he is incapable of articulating his own thoughts or emotions. This also victimizes him instead of empowering him to rally the internal strength of his own convictions.
Either way, let Martin take his own action, and the populace tend to their own woes.
Obviously I do not agree with this the things that Incognito said. The use of the “N word” in a demeaning context toward an African American is never acceptable, especially not by a person not of that race. At first I thought the situation was being blown out of proportion, that it was simply men being men in some NFL locker room-talk. The more we have learned however, that he constantly bullied Martin just for being a new player in the league, makes it seem like its fine for younger players to do. If we excuse this behavior, will high school seniors start thinking its cool to emotionally destroy incoming freshmen and sophomore players? There needs to be a line between guys giving each other a hard time and pure racial hate speech. I think this is a line incognito needs to learn about.
It is unacceptable to bully on any level especially on a NFL level where they are looked as role models. With this story being released Martin is stating he will not tolerate any type of bullying on any level and it should stop. I agree we could get more bee’s with honey, they could have better games, more fans and more support if they treated each other with respect.
I think it unfortunate that professional athletes who are in the public eye and supposed role models for young people display such immature, unethical, and cruel behavior. The even greater harm is that it is tolerated to the extent that it is not stopped the first time it happens and comes to the attention of the coaches or other players on the team.
I do agree with the article that it is a good opportunity for parents to have frank discussions with their children acknowledging that this type of behavior exists and that it is unacceptable. This behavior should not be tolerated by coaches, teachers, school administrators, and others in authority, but also not by their peers. Sometimes the message is more powerful when people are willing to call their peers on inappropriate behavior, words, and actions. It takes a great deal of courage to do this, but could curtail a significant amount of the bullying that occurs in professional sports, the workplace, and schools.
It appears from his size, standing in the NFL, and race that Incognito was in the power position in this situation. It is too bad the Martin had to back down and leave in order to protect himself from further harm. It is also unfortunate that there was no one he could turn to in the organization to support him and end the harm that was occurring. I hope this ends up bringing to light the damage this can do to people and is an opportunity for us to teach our children the right way treat and respect others.
I agree with previous comments that Incognito is out of bounds for his behavior, Martin did nothing to deserve such treatment and I believe he made the right choice to remove himself from the situation. NFL players are role models for people of all ages, keeping up professional behavior is important. Granted there will be disagreements between teammates and other players, however how those involved respond to it can create either a negative or positive example for those around them and fans.
Bullying is never okay, at any age, it can have a lasting affect on everyone involved. It is important to use this situation as a way to educate students, athletes, etc. about the affects of bullying and how this behavior is not tolerated in any situation. Yes, these are grown men in a very competitive environment, however there is a line between competitive conduct and destructive behavior which has been crossed. This is an opportunity to teach those being targeted how to handle themselves when being the target of such behavior. I know if I had had such lessons growing up I would not have needed the years it took to get over my own experiences with bullying.