Group Psychosis in the NFL

You know it's bad when the people who keep talking in an attempt to make it better only keep making it worse. This is how I feel every time I hear yet another experienced member of football culture explain to those of us uninitiated, weak, know-nothing, sadly clueless outsiders how incredibly normal it is to abuse teammates.

"Yeah, we chop each other's arms off with a hatchet all the time, but it isn't done maliciously!"

I just finished reading -- in "New York" magazine of all places -- an article by former Denver Bronco Nate Jackson. He talks about being hazed and being a hazer, listing many of the crazy behaviors that have been reported lately relating to the Dolphins, Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. It's all one big N-word festival filled with equipment-toting, check-paying rookies who need to be tough, because, you know, you have to be able to count on them in the fourth quarter. Jackson implies that there is some sort of correlation between being able to hold the line on third-down-and-one and giving up your place under the shower when you're soapy.

His article lists a wide array of activities that are part of an unwritten code that surely was created by a bunch of depraved middle schoolers. It's a warped view of manhood, a warped view of camaraderie, a warped view of what it means to be loyal. But Jackson argues that fans can't expect players to be animals on the field and then shut that off in the rest of their lives. Well, perhaps he's right on that one. It's become apparent that the players are so entrenched in this group psychosis that they don't even realize how crazy they sound when they are defending it.

But what about the sports writers? Where have they been all this time? They're not supposed to be writing as fanboys; they're supposed to be reporters. None of the sideline specialists or locker room insiders knew about these behaviors? I find that a little hard to believe. Maybe someone needs to straighten them out, toughen them up, show them how real reporters do it. I'm sure if someone would just tie them up and shave their heads, that would make them much more reliable.