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Today's Question Blog
Michael Olson

Should hazing be accepted as part of pro football?

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Photo by Jayel Aheram via Flickr

"Playing football is a man’s job, and if there’s any weak link, it gets weeded out. It’s the leaders’ job on the team to take care of it," writes former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Lydon Murtha.

Murtha recently waded into the questions of bullying and hazing in the NFL. "I don’t have a dog in this fight," he told Sports Illustrated's Monday Morning Quarterback blog.

"I want that to be very clear. I played offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins from 2009 until the 2012 preseason, when I was released after tearing ligaments in my foot and injuring my back, both requiring surgery. I have since retired, and I’m happily working in the auto industry and living outside of Miami. I went to college at Nebraska with Richie Incognito, and I consider myself friends with him and Jonathan Martin, but I don’t speak with them regularly and I’m not taking sides."

Boston Globe columnist Christopher Gasper writes the bullying culture in NFL has to stop.

The jocktocracy, full of current and former players, spun into overdrive trying to rationalize and extenuate the alleged actions of Incognito, who has a troubled past that includes being regarded as one of the NFL’s dirtiest players, while reprimanding Martin for breaking the locker room (man) code of silence.

The majority of Martin’s teammates publicly sided with Incognito. One of Martin’s fellow offensive linemen, Tyson Clabo, said Martin needed to act like a man.

“I think if you have a problem with somebody — a legitimate problem with somebody — you should say, ‘I have a problem with this,’ and stand up and be a man,” Clabo said Wednesday. “I don’t think what happened is necessary.”

Today's Question: Should hazing be accepted as part of football?