NBA sends teams memo about bullying
By Josh Sanchez
In the wake of the Miami Dolphins locker room saga involving offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, there is another prominent sports league that is taking steps to prevent this type of negative story from reaching the headlines with their league in the cross hairs.
According to reports, the NBA sent a memo to all 30 teams that warned them bullying and hazing would not be tolerated in any form or fashion.
From ESPN.com’s Marc Stein:
"The lengthy list of violations, sources said, includes: 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"
Hopefully the message was well-received, because we really don’t need to be having another bullying scandal on our hands.