If you, by chance, don't know what's going on you can search the Internet and find no dearth of articles. Problematically, while an investigation is currently underway we still don't have the hard facts. Situations like this one can be sticky because it often comes down to he said she said (or in this case he said he said). Here's what we do know for certain: Jonathan Martin has left his team, Richie Incognito has been indefinitely suspended, both are looking for justice and vindication, and both have supporters. What makes this case so interesting: Jonathan Martin claims he was bullied by multiple teammates but the main focus is on Incognito, rumors have circulated Martin was lazy and didn't show much work ethic, Incognito is an undeniable d-bag, and many teammates have come to Incognito's side.
When analyzing this situation, I don't see how one can OBJECTIVELY say one person is more wrong than the other. From the various stories and tidbits percolating the interweb, it's hard to side with either person. Jonathan Martin is being painted as a wussy by some folks and as a role model by others. The big issues I have with him, based on what I've heard, is that 1) teammates have said that Martin had the main piece of evidence in question (a voicemail from Incognito that poses death threats and uses obscene and defamatory words) for a while and laughed about it, but now suddenly it's a problem, 2) he's acting like he's the first person to go through hazing in the NFL, 3) it's certainly strange that his own teammates, generally speaking, aren't backing him (makes me wonder if this coup is a copout). On the flip side, how could I or anyone really side with Incognito? 1) He's recorded saying these words, 2) I've heard stories ranging from him prodding a woman on a golf course with his club to demeaning staff members, 3) before this story broke out I knew him as the lineman who was always picking fights. The guy is an awful person. Period.
I really want to wait until the investigators reveal more information until jumping to conclusions. I think this situation plays out one of two ways: either Incognito gets the hammer dropped on him and is made an example for NFL locker rooms or Incognito gets acquitted of the accusations, gets his grievance, and Martin has a tough time latching on with a team.
While the overall situation is interesting, I think it's prevalent in more ways than just football; it highlights a lot of issues with our society today.
Media, Privacy, and Bullying
NOTHING IS PRIVATE ANYMORE. Privacy is virtually non-existant. I really don't think this situation is the first time a problem like this has arisen in an NFL locker room. In the past, though, it's remained in-house and dealt with privately. Many folks within the Dolphins organization are irked and vexed that Martin took it outside the "family." We don't believe in private matters--with the convenience of sharing everything from our food to our pets to how many breaths we took in the last minute instantly, it's like everyone knows everything about everyone. It's super strange but how our world works now. I think this lack of privacy or secrecy really hinders relationships as often people have nothing to share with one another in person and thus have no reason to interact physically (but that's a whole different issue).
If we weren't bad enough, the media takes it to a whole new level. I believe I've said it before, but I hate the media so much. It's absolutely overkill most of the time and it makes the world seem full of vitriol. I understand that bad things happen, but when you hear about it constantly how can you not be a little depressed? Matters get overanalyzed to the point where people are afraid to live at times. Obviously, the media plays an integral role in keeping us knowledgeable, but it's just too much for me at times.
It's not the only factor, but a big core to this problem is bullying. It's a difficult situation we're trying to grasp better today as a society. It's a truly dicey and touchy topic. On one hand, we see a sweeping movement to stop bullying, which is great. No one deserves to be bullied--there's no need to bring someone down to build yourself up. On the other hand, we live in a society that overcompensates for this type of treatment and creates thin-skinned individuals, which leads to our pampered and entitled generation. It's well known that rookies get hazed. Should it be so intense that it causes people to become depressed? Probably not. Should people get depressed if someone puts them down occasionally? Probably not. It's a tight rope for me as someone who has experience in this area, but I think the fact that the term "bullying" is being used, it takes it to a new level. We definitely have more work to do to resolve some of these issues. Personally, I'm guessing the NFL will crack down on these hazing rituals to protect what's most important to them, their pockets. I foresee many lawsuits arising if they don't.
N***************
What's also super troubling, to me, is Incoginto's use of the n. Side note, Louis CK did a bit noting how when people say "the n-word" they're just putting the actual word in someone else's head, which I found interesting. Anywho...
There has been a lot of news, a lot of questions, a lot of opinions, and a lot of articles recently revolving said word. As you may or may not know, Terry Foster wrote a piece not too long ago about how Tony Scheffler (a now former Lion and white individual) used the word somewhat freely with teammate Louis Delmas. Many non-African Americans are questioning why they can't use it more freely as they argue it's become the norm in popular culture. Well, here's one more opinion for you...
I'm going to try and keep this brief because I'm admittedly not an authority to talk about this subject but I do believe certain things should be noted. What people do in their private time is theirs. As I stated above, privacy is at a minimum nowadays so people absolutely must be conscious and careful. If people in the locker room of the NFL are cool with Incognito saying such words, as one teammate deemed his as a "non-racist and a honorary brother," that's their business. But the second you record it on a voicemail or publicize it, you're overstepping boundaries.
I think people are becoming desensitized to the word and forgetting it's roots--slavery. Following that thought, people are forgetting to contextualize the distinct fact that the ending has been changed in use from er to a. It's not cool for me to say that word; it's not cool for Richie Incognito to use that outside of private conversations (that his peers deem okay). Period.
I read an article, I believe it was from NY Times, about the new movie 12 Years a Slave. The author stated that it was the first movie he could remember in some time that didn't glorify and desensitize slavery, but instead it painted it in a mortifying, truthful picture. Basically what I'm getting at is sort of like how many songs like "Wade in the Water" were used to turn something negative into something positive (forcing religion on slaves turned into cryptic messages for escape), n was turned into something that wasn't in the white slave masters' control. People need to stop the petty crap and let it go.
We are trying to simply a complex issue.
At the end of the day, this situation between Martin and Incognito is and will remain a mess. It digs up many ugly skeletons we have been trying to keep in our closets. How it's dealt with could shape how future situations are handled. For now we must wait and see.
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