Allegations of Bullying Between NFL Players - Nicole Russo

Allegations of Bullying Between NFL Players

NFL Miami Dolphins player resigns after allegedly being bullied by another teammate.

Richie Incognito, a player for the NFL Miami Dolphins, is at the center of a controversy for allegedly bulling another teammate, Jonathan Martin.

Martin left the Dolphins in October after Incognito and other players supposedly harassed and bullied him. The Dolphins then suspended Incognito for “conduct detrimental to the team” a few days later.

Incognito admitted to using racist and offensive language in his text messages and voice mails to Martin in an interview aired on “Fox NFL Sunday”. He defends his choice of language by saying “it was a joke” between friends.

He claims Martin also used vulgar language, leaving him a voice mail that said he would kill his entire family. Incognito said that the two shared a relationship in which that type of language was commonly used.

Locker Room Culture

Incognito also admitted to using the n-word towards Martin, but says he is not racist.

He told interviewer and Fox Sports reporter, Jay Glazer, that he had heard the word used in the locker room by Martin and other players before.  Even though the derogatory language is used in the locker room, Incognito said, “It, in no way, shape or form, is ever acceptable for me to use that word, even if it's friend to friend in a voice mail."

This isn’t the first time Incognito has behaved questionably. He was suspended from the football teams at the University of Nebraska and the University of Oregon more than once for behavioral issues and harassed a volunteer at a golf tournament last year.

Reactions

 The controversy has brought debate about bullying, especially in the football environment.

Eric Adelson, author for Yahoo! Sports, wrote a post explaining the argument of some that football is combative by nature and players like Martin need to learn how to “man up”.

Some people think that Martin’s decision to leave the team doesn’t represent the tough and strong image of a typical football player.

Adelson argues that there shouldn’t be standards of bullying. Whether it is a third-grade student or an NFL football player, if a person feels uncomfortable by the actions or words of another person, it is bullying and unacceptable.

Martin’s Response

Martin has not spoken to the public yet, but his attorney released a statement last week saying that Martin was verbally abused every day, was physically attacked, and received a threat that his sister would be sexually assaulted by teammates.

Martin decided he had no choice but to leave the Miami Dolphins while the NFL investigates the allegations.

Do you think Incognito’s actions are justified because of the locker room culture? Or should he face further consequences for bullying behavior? Comment below.