salon | Add in this video of
Incognito ranting and using the n-word and it’s easy to see how someone
like Martin would be a ready target. Martin’s high school coach, Vic
Eumont, says he is not surprised, telling the Palm Beach Post:
“Bullies usually go after people like him,” Eumont said. … “Before he wasn’t around Nebraska, LSU kind of guys. He’s always been around Stanford, Duke, Rice kind of players.”
“He always wanted to make everybody happy and make friends and not be a problem. All of his teachers loved him. All of his teammates loved him. His nickname was Moose and he was happy to have that. He was always ‘yes or no sir,’ do whatever you ask him to do. I can see where somebody that’s a bully will take advantage of him, and rather than him say anything would just hold it inside.
“I can see where if somebody was bullying him he would take that to heart, and be concerned and think it was his fault.”
In addition, there is the culture of an NFL locker room, where being
“soft” and “different” are bad things. If Martin was a real man, he
would have brawled with Incognito, the thinking goes. Sports
Illustrated’s Jim Trotter has an eye-opening article quoting
league personnel men (not players, management) calling Martin “weak”
and a “coward” for reporting the bullying instead of handling it
himself. Trotter’s conclusion?:
Incognito is a despicable human being if he’s guilty of what’s been alleged, but in the NFL teams will put up with drug dealers, dog fighters, drunk drivers who kill someone and racists if they can help them win games. Said one personnel man: “Incognito is an A-Hole, however I’m pretty sure you would want him beside you if you are in a bar fight. Tough as nails.”
Which
brings us back to the gay issue. Any openly gay player will, by the
very nature of being out, be “different” from his teammates. He could
face the same pressures that Martin did for that reason, and would be
expected to fight back lest he be called soft and weak. However, there
are huge caveats to keep in mind before assuming that what Martin faced
is what a gay player would face. So much would depend on the player’s
personality and his relationship with his teammates, coaches and
management. A well-liked player who fits in as one of the guys — despite
being gay — could make his sexual orientation a non-issue quickly.
Let’s
not use the Martin case to make a sweeping statement about how a gay
player would be treated. What happened to him is bad enough and is a
reminder that bullying can happen to anyone, regardless of their status
or sexual orientation.
