Gresh & Zo: Where's The Line Drawn For Hazing In Sports?
BOSTON (CBS) - Gresh & Zo opened up the show by discussing the controversy surrounding the accusation that Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito has been hazing fellow teammate and second year tackle Jonathan Martin.
A nasty voicemail from Incognito to Martin was leaked to the media, one in which racial slurs and other derogatory comments were made.
The Dolphins have suspended Incognito indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team in connection to allegations of harassment and bullying teammate Jonathan Martin."
Following all this hoopla, Andy Gresh, Scott Zolak and Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe asked: where is the line drawn for hazing in sports?
Gresh said that teasing and giving guys a hard time is commonplace in a football atmosphere, but as soon as racial remarks are made that's where it's not okay. Which is why it's so puzzling to him that Martin didn't react with violence.
Gresh thinks there's more to the story.
"Richie Incognito went over the line with the stuff that he did with Jonathan Martin," said Gresh. "But you mean to tell me that when the race card gets played you don't bow up a little bit? You don't confront this character? That's the part I was wondering: what's really going on here? I don't think we have the whole story."
Zolak recalls memories of rookie hazing in his first year as a Patriot, and how he was taped up into a ball and rolled down the old Foxboro Stadium ramps in a laundry bin by older players. But Zo draws a distinction of what was done to him, and what went down with Incognito in Miami.
"When Richie Incognito brought the race into it, and talked about desecrating on somebody the way he did, the sound alarm for 'whacko' and 'nut-job' goes off. He needs to be removed immediately," said Zolak on hazing.
A few years back when Gresh & Zo were down at Patriots training camp, the veterans were dousing the rookies with a fire hose during a fumble drill, essentially getting waterboarded.
The one player who refused to participate?
Aaron Hernandez.
The guys then referenced an online chat with Tedy Bruschi. The former Patriots linebacker told a story of how rookies paying for dinner got way out of hand, and what Bill Belichick did about it.
Listen to the discussion below:
Where Do You Draw The Line For Hazing?
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