Note: A picture that was included with this story when it was originally posted has been removed.
Thursday, November 17, 2013. Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill wakes up early in his hotel room, as he gets ready to play a key non-conference matchup against the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers in primetime. With the Dolphins record at 4-4, Tannehill knows that if his team cannot muster out a victory for this game, then their playoff aspirations look significantly duller. While he takes the bus to the stadium, Tannehill wonders how to adjust to having two new offensive linemen blocking for him tonight, instead of his focus aimed at mentally going over different schemes and zones he will have to face against the defense. He can’t stop thinking about how he is going to try to develop chemistry with new offensive linemen, Tyson Clabo and Nate Garner, an adjustment that would not had to have been made if offensive guard Richie Incognito did not bully a fellow teammate of his.
In the wake of Incognito’s bullying case, it has shown high school athletes that there are harsh punishments for hazing in the locker room.
The most common forms of sports-related bullying are either cyber or physical. In the case of Incognito’s, it was a little bit of both. On October 30, Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin reportedly left the team for an undisclosed reason. Throughout the next couple of days, details emerged that Martin was dealing with emotional issues and was reportedly bullied in the locker room. Martin’s representation reported that Incognito had verbally and physically bullied Martin in the Dolphins’ locker room, and the Dolphins, after hearing these allegations, suspended Incognito indefinitely, which sent a wave of uproar around the league. Incognito was accused of sending racial slurs through text to Martin about him and his family. A recent ESPN investigation polled 72 different players around the NFL on the Incognito issue. Of the 72 players, 34 would rather have Martin as a teammate compared to only 15 players wanting Incognito as their teammate. The other 23 did not want either on their team.
Many players around the league were angered with Martin “tattling” on Incognito because he was breaking the code of the locker room. They thought Martin should toughen up, and not go complaining to the league that his feelings were hurt. The New York Giants’ Antrel Rolle stated that the incident was just as much as Martin’s fault because he was the one who let it happen, without consulting anyone.
On the other hand, there has been uproar from supporters of Martin, arguing that there should be no tolerance for hazing and bullying in locker rooms. According to an ESPN article by writer Bill Williamson, San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh does have a policy against hazing in his locker room. When asked about how severe the punishment would be if one was caught bullying a fellow teammate in the locker room, Harbaugh would not go into detail. However, the coach was comfortable relaying that there was a policy in his locker room. Because of this, his team will not tolerate bullying in the locker room whatsoever. Even though Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin stated that bullying wouldn’t be tolerated, Incognito is still on the team, which has Martin supporters upset because a suspension for a major bullying case is a minimal punishment.
Here at LHS, hazing and bullying have consequences as well. According to the LHS student handbook, “expulsion is a possible penalty for such behavior whether it occurs within the school, on the campus, on the school buses, or at any school sponsored activity or can in any way be related to school.”
The student handbook applies to everyone at the school, not just athletes. “Bullying doesn’t happen often here, but when it does, it’s mostly online or some sort of cyber bullying,” stated head athletic director Mr. Briant Kelly.
If an athlete was caught, the school, athletic office and parents would be notified of the situation. The severity of the punishment for hazing or bullying a fellow teammate depends on the seriousness of the act and the respective team’s policies. Consequences could range from giving the athlete a one-game suspension to a season suspension from the team. The decisions would be made by school officials or the coach.
According to head football coach Mr. Mike Jones, there have not been any major hazing cases he has had to deal with over the course of his coaching career.
“Sometimes when you’re youthful, you don’t have the best judgment, but it has never reached a level to that of Incognito’s,” stated Jones. He mentioned that because the team spends so much time together throughout the year and the offseason that the players have too much respect for everyone on the team for a large hazing incident to happen.
Some students thought Incognito’s actions were unacceptable and detrimental to his team. Senior Wildcat offensive and defensive lineman Mark Girgis noted that if he was suspended from the team, it would be one of the worst punishments because he would lose the respect of teammates.
“An offensive lineman is trained to protect the ball carrier by taking hits for them and clearing a path,” stated Girgis. “This man is doing exactly the opposite, which is selfish. He put himself before the team.”
Senior girls basketball player Andi Katz felt bad for the players affected by hazing on the Dolphins.
If this were to happen on the high school basketball team, the offending player “would probably get kicked off the team and questioned by their teammates,” stated Katz. “A strong relationship with your teammates is key to a team’s success and hazing would definitely have a negative effect on the team.”
In north suburban Des Plaines, Maine West High School was involved in a 2008 hazing scandal that involved boys soccer and baseball players abusing other teammates in their locker room. As a result of the investigation, five victims have sued Maine West and their coaches for sexual assault. According to a Chicago Tribune report, one athlete claimed that his coach encouraged other teammates to tackle him to the ground, push his face against the grass and sodomize him with multiple objects. Maine West soccer and baseball head coach Michael Divincenzo was fired immediately after the allegations came out. He was then charged with hazing, failure to report abuse and battery. The most recent court case for the trial took place on December 18, where the verdict will be decided if Divincenzo is guilty of his charges.
As a result of Incognito’s bullying of Martin, it has reinforced the idea of athletes thinking before they act. No matter if a person supports Martin or Incognito, one thing can be learned by athletes from this situation: if a teammate is caught bullying, serious consequences will follow.
