In the midst of the storm coming down on the Miami Dolphins after reports about bullying and hazing came to light, NBA officials sent a memo to all 30 NBA teams reminding them that bullying or hazing at any level will not be tolerated.
According to ESPN, the memo listed a number of violations including the following:
Any physical abuse or threats of violence; verbal abuse focused on an individual’s race, nationality, color, gender, age, religion, sexuality, etc.; destruction, defacement or theft of a fellow player’s personal property; engaging in any activity that intimidates or threatens fellow players with ostracism or inflicts extreme mental stress, embarrassment, humiliation or shame; and forcing an individual to engage in any activity or perform any task that violates federal, state or local law or NBA rules and regulations.
Also prohibited, sources said, is requiring an individual to unreasonably pay for meals, travel, entertainment expenses, goods or services that are being solely enjoyed by others as well as imposing physical activities on a fellow player — such as exposure to weather, confinement in a restricted area, or consumption of food, liquid or substance — that leads to unreasonable risk for the individual or adversely affects their mental or physical health or safety
Sources from multiple teams claim that NBA culture is much different from NFL culture. One team official from the Western Conference said,
“I’ve been around for a while and I’ve never really heard any crazy stories.”
In our society bullying is not acceptable at any level, not even amongst some of the greatest athletes in the world. Expect to see more memos like this in the future.