Posts Tagged ‘Jonathan Martin’
Williams: Nothing postracial about Incognito
Friday, November 29th, 2013
No matter how you parse it, Incognito is a bully and Cobb is a white supremacist
By Patricia J. Williams, The Nation, Nov. 26, 2013
They’re curiously phrased, those expressions of sympathy by Miami Dolphins players who have lined up to defend left guard Richie Incognito’s violent behavior toward his teammate, offensive lineman Jonathan Martin. Incognito achieved particular notoriety recently for directing a hefty wet stream of racialized epithets at Martin. (“Hey, wassup, you half-[n-word] piece of [expletive]…[I'm going to] slap your real mother across the face…. I’ll kill you!”) This bullying was so relentless that Martin decided to resign from the NFL.
Despite Incognito’s extensive history of brutality (he was elected “dirtiest player” in the league), a significant number of black and white teammates have rallied around him as an “honorary” black man, incapable of racism. Incognito, it has been proffered, had merely “messed” with Martin as one would a “little brother.” Martin, by contrast, the genteel, sweater-vested Stanford classics major, has been depicted as “not really black” because he’s somehow too “soft” to stand up to a bit of friendly hazing. Most intriguing, he’s been painted as a reverse racist for even complaining.
Tags: Jonathan Martin, law professor, Nation, NFL, Patricia J. Williams, postracial, racism, Richie Incognito
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Miami Herald: A profile of Jonathan Martin — brawny, brainy nerd & bullied target
Wednesday, November 27th, 2013
By Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, Nov. 19, 2013
Everyone knew Jonathan Martin as “Moose” at Harvard-Westlake, an elite prep school for the children of Los Angeles’ corporate and entertainment executives that is perched among the pines of Coldwater Canyon. Martin, a 6-foot-5 football star, reflexively bent over to hug classmates upon greeting them. When he wasn’t flattening opponents with pancake blocks, he played the viola, which looked like a toy in his large hands.
“Jonathan was by far the biggest man on campus, but he was also a big puppy,” said Dave Levy, offensive coordinator for the football team. “Not a jokester, and a bar fight wouldn’t be his style. He was an achiever, as is each student here. He was a serious kid, but he always had a smile on his face and was a friend to all.”
Martin, who attended a private elementary school in Bel-Air and was raised in a neighborhood known as the “Black Beverly Hills” by Harvard-educated parents, grew up in a lush world of privilege and propriety. The Miami Dolphins locker room, where Martin said he was bullied, insulted and harassed during his first two seasons as a pro, must have seemed like an inferno.
Martin majored in classics at Stanford, and his bulk belied the poetry in his soul, but he should not have been ostracized just because he didn’t fit the NFL stereotype, his friends said.
“You can love literature and be a very tough football player,” said Andrew Phillips, a Stanford teammate. “You can be a smart athlete. That doesn’t have to be an oxymoron.”
Tags: Harvard-Westlake, Jonathan Martin, Miami Dolphins, moral courage, NFL, non-violence, Stanford, viola, workplace bullying
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Morning AMp: Gabe Mendoza talks bullying in the workplace
Sunday, November 24th, 2013
Gabriel Mendoza, host of Weekend AMp – Chicago 90.3 FM, interviewed Gary Namie about how employees can protect themselves when bullied at work. They also address bullying allegations swirling around the NFL’s Miami Dolphins locker room. 27 min. audio
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Tags: Gabe Mendoza, Gabriel Mendoza, Gary Namie, Jonathan Martin, Miami Dolphins, Morning AMp, NFL, Richie Incognito, vocalo, workplace bullying, Workplace Bullying Institute
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APA: The Richie Incognito Case: Workplace Bullying or Just “Locker Room” Culture?
Friday, November 22nd, 2013
By Efua Andoh, Psychology Benefits Society (American Psychological Association), Nov. 21, 2013
Richie Incognito’s harassment of Miami Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin raises many complex questions about workplace bullying, jock culture and American culture overall especially regarding issues of power disparities, masculinity, and race.
As a 6 foot 5, 300-plus pound lineman on the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins, Jonathan Martin doesn’t exactly fit the stereotype of a bullying victim. But as has now come to light, Jonathan Martin was the target of persistent harassment by Richie Incognito, a fellow lineman with a reputation as one of the dirtiest players in the league. Incognito’s lewd and threatening voicemails, some of which included racial slurs (Martin is African American and Incognito is white) have been made public. Reports have emerged that Dolphins coaches may have explicitly instructed Incognito to “toughen up” Martin and that some Dolphins teammates even participated in the abuse. The apparent straw that broke the camel’s back was Incognito and others standing up and leaving a lunch table as soon as Martin joined them – a schoolyard tactic if there ever was one. Martin abruptly left the team after that incident and checked into a hospital for treatment of emotional distress.
While the Dolphins initially downplayed Martin’s departure, the team has indefinitely suspended Incognito, and the NFL has launched its own investigation. Yet, Martin’s decision to seek help has met with a mixed reaction. While some players have been sympathetic there has been a collective shrug from a number of others who have dismissed Incognito’s behavior as simply part of the “locker room culture.” Some have said that Martin should have “been a man,” implying he should have responded to aggression with aggression. Sports Illustrated quoted one anonymous player “I might get my ass kicked, but I’m going to go down swinging if that happens to me, I can tell you that.“
This story raises troubling and complex questions about workplace bullying, jock culture, and American culture overall regarding issues of power disparities, masculinity, and race. It isn’t cut and dried; emerging research shows us that some of the things that many dismiss as simply “locker room” culture are antecedents to workplace bullying. In fact, bullying targets – and bullies — come in all sizes, ages, and kinds.
Tags: Gary Namie, Jonathan Martin, locker room culture, Miami Dolphins, NFL, Samnani & Singh, workplace bullying, Workplace Bullying Institute
Posted in Bullying-Related Research, Media About Bullying, NFL: Jonathan Martin, Print: News, Blogs, Magazines, Social/Mgmt/Epid Sciences, Tutorials About Bullying, WBI Education, WBI in the News | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
WATR-AM, Waterbury CT Talk of the Town – workplace bullying
Thursday, November 21st, 2013
Larry Rifkin, host of the show Talk of the Town on WATR-AM 1320 in Waterbury, Connecticut interviewed Gary Namie to open an hour-long discussion of Workplace Bullying on Wed. Nov. 20.
No audio available.
Tags: Gary Namie, Jonathan Martin, Larry Rifkin, NFL, WATR, workplace bullying
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Daily Show: Lessons from Dick Incognito for all workplaces
Thursday, November 21st, 2013
After Jon Stewart sets the context for needing new NFL rules, at the 1:40 mark John Oliver and friends clarify the “Do’s and Don’ts” for workplaces. (Warning: language potentially unsafe for work)
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Tags: bullying, Jonathan Martin, NFL, Richie Incognito, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, workplace bullying
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All in a Day’s Work: Hollingsworth interviews Namie on workplace bullying
Wednesday, November 20th, 2013
On Nov. 9, Steven Hollingsworth, host of the show All in a Day’s Work, Las Vegas, interviewed Dr. Gary Namie, WBI Director on the topic of workplace bullying. Listen to the 55 min. show.
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Tags: All in a day's work, Gary Namie, Jonathan Martin, Las Vegas, Miami Dolphins, NFL, Steven Hollingsworth, workplace bullying
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Success: Bullies at work
Wednesday, November 20th, 2013
By Jessica Krampe, Success, Nov. 20, 2013
Think about bullies and you imagine the schoolyard or, in the wake of the Miami Dolphins’ scandal, the locker room. The stereotype bully is a big doofus or a “mean girl” who uses an unfair advantage to brutalize or denigrate a weaker counterpart.
Bullies grow up—and not all get drafted into the NFL. They go to work just like the rest of us. Like the stereotype, they seek to undermine a weaker person to gain power. Unlike the stereotype, workplace bullies aren’t meatheads; they’re often politically astute, possessing strong leadership skills and the capability to ace a performance evaluation, according to research.
Could you have a bully in your organization? Quite possibly, experts say. Would you know it? Not necessarily.
Tags: Jessica Krampe, Jonathan Martin, Miami Dolphins, NFL, SHRM, Treadway, workplace bullying
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Pacific Standard: Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin Are Everywhere
Monday, November 18th, 2013
While some have said that the situation with the Miami Dolphins is unique to football, workplace bullying is ubiquitous.
By Aaron Gordon, Pacific-Standard, November 18, 2013
Unless you have been living under a particularly shady rock or have the preternatural gift to ignore the sporting world and all its permeating controversies, you’ve heard about the vicious bullying case involving Richie Incognito and the Miami Dolphins. Just in case: although the situation is far from concluded, it seems clear Incognito (a veteran offensive lineman with a history of bullying) tormented second-year teammate Jonathan Martin with racist and sexual slurs and forced him to spend $15,000 to fund a team trip to Las Vegas that he did not attend, in addition to other brutish behavior ultimately resulting in Martin storming out of the team facility to check himself into a hospital due to emotional distress.
Unfortunately, the Dolphins case may be more typical than many believe. While some have been quick to surmise that the professional sports locker room is a unique atmosphere, previous research about workplace bullying indicates otherwise. The severity may differ from place to place, but workplace bullying is a recognized issue in most Western countries, and its effects on tormented employees permeate all industries.
Tags: Aaron Gordon, bullied target, Gary Namie, Jonathan Martin, Miami Dolphins, NFL, Pete Carroll, Richie Incognito, workplace bullying, Workplace Bullying Institute
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The Workplace Bullying Institute solution for the NFL bullying problem
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
10 Steps to Ensure an Abuse-Free NFL Workplace
1. The change must be at the NFL level and not remain buried within the Dolphins organization alone.
2. Be careful to not move from zero awareness to zero tolerance. The most extreme swing will make compliance officers of all coaches and compel snitching among players. Resentment would ensue. Allow time to learn new ways to interact. Tolerate up to two offenses prior to termination.
3. Create a policy to draw “the line in the sand.” Unacceptable conduct must be specified. Behavioral standards must exist for comparison’s sake.
4. Demand that the policy pertain to all employees — owners to rookie players and all coaches in between. Apply the standards consistently. Do not resolve on a “case-by-case” basis that allows for exemptions for favorites.
5. Before formal complaints can be filed, require that bullied players first consult with a member of an Expert Peers Team trained in the nuances of workplace bullying so that the ambiguous experiences can be clarified, strategies provided and information about the policy and procedures explained safely and confidentially.
6. Write the policy or code to address only the most severe, health-harming forms of abusive conduct that has absolutely nothing to do with performance (playing the game successfully).
7. Allow non-humiliating rituals to continue (such as rookies gathering helmets at the end of games … see coach Pete Carroll). Render extinct hazing, intimidation, financial extortion, and other non-physical forms of abuse.
8. Devise safe, non-retaliatory, non-stigmatizing procedures that enable complaint filing and 3rd party investigations.
9. Provide healing, restorative justice solutions for affected targets, bullies and witnessing coworkers.
10. Identify veteran & retired players known for toughness (e.g., Ray Lewis) who can be league ambassadors on the topic.
Roger Goodell, call me at 360-656-6630.
Gary Namie, PhD
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Tags: culture change, employer solution, Gary Namie, Jonathan Martin, locker room culture, systemic, Work Doctor, workplace bullying, Workplace Bullying Institute
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