26 | Sports. Nov. 18, 2013. The DePaulia
COMMENTARY
Bullying in sports raises important questions By David Webber Sports Editor
What does it mean to be a man? It’s a question that hasn’t been prevalent in professional sports until very recently. We’ve always assumed that athletes are the toughest people on the planet and we refuse to believe that such behemoths could be hurt by words alone. Enter the Miami Dolphins. The scandal involving teammates Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin has revealed the ugly nature of bullying in the NFL and it’s still hard to assess whether or not we as human beings are able to sympathize with the manliest of men. For those who haven't followed the drama, Martin, an offensive lineman for Miami, stormed out of the team's complex after his teammates pulled a prank on him. After a few days, it was revealed that Martin had reached the breaking point following relentless hazing by his teammates, particularly at the hands of Incognito. Incognito sent several racist and objectionable texts to Martin and was dismissed from the team. The situation brings up the question: did Incognito go too far, or did Martin simply not have the gumption to face him and tell him he wanted the hazing to stop? Rookie hazing is a tradition in the NFL, which is why many players are taking Incognito's side. But the situation begs investigation. Hazing may be a tradition, but texting your teammate "I'm going to kill you" and calling him the n-word is not so much hazing as it is straight up mean. Still, Martin should have
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Cleveland Melvin helps Tommy Hamilton up off the ground. Melvin paced DePaul with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
MEN'S BBALL, continued from back page
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Jonathan Martin (above) was the victim of intense rookie hazing at the hands of Richie Incognito (below), but it can be argued that Martin should have stood up for himself to stop the constant harrassment. stood up for himself and put a stop to the bullying. This is why it's hard to put blame on just one person. Who does society side with? A poll on ESPN.com suggests that people are split—38 percent deemed it the team's fault, 37 percent thought Martin should have stood up for himself, and 25 percent were undecided. It's an unprecedented situation and opens up a Pandora's Box filled with questions about masculinity. NFL players embody the tough-guy image that many men strive for, and that's why so many people think that it was out of line for Martin to simply walk out on his teammates. In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in between. If hazing is a tradition, then a rookie should know that it's part of the process
REJECTION, continued from back page Bill Self could develop me and get me where I want to be,” Alexander said. “I want to get to where I want to be fast and I didn’t have time to waste.” “And that’s the NBA?” one reporter asked after. Of course it’s the NBA. As long as high school athletes have the plan to jump to the NBA after a year, which most big-time recruits do, DePaul’s chances of landing a prized recruit are slim. It’s the same reason that Duke’s Jabari Parker didn’t pick DePaul, despite it being in his top ten. The same reasoning goes for Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis and Evan Turner, all successful college players who DePaul strongly recruited. DePaul does not only have a terrible track record of taking young players and turning them into NBA stars, it doesn’t have a track at all. And they won’t land a big-time recruit until Oliver Purnell, or someone else, proves DePaul can win. “Lack of success was,” Alexander said when asked if DePaul’s losing ways were factored in crossing them off. “I could see myself playing there, but I think I’d be happier (at Kansas).” DePaul had enough appeal for Alexander to list them initially, but it wasn’t enough to accomplish
of becoming a professional athlete. There's no excuse for not being prepared. That being said, there should be a line that can't be crossed, as Incognito did. And in the end, it's up to the afflicted party to solve the situation like a rational human being. I feel bad for Jonathan Martin, who, for all we know, could have some underlying mental issues that forced his hand. But I still think he should have gone to the team's front office and voiced his displeasure instead of throwing his hands up and leaving. In addition, Incognito has a history of bad behavior. His reputation preceeds him, something that Martin should have used to his advantage. There's no winner in this soap opera—but there are lessons to be learned.
his goals at the end of the day. Turning around a program’s culture is too big of a task for a player set on getting to the NBA within a year. Sure, there might have been an appeal for Alexander to be the big-man on campus, but could that have been accomplished at DePaul? There was no hype for him on campus, besides a small student section chant at the Southern Mississippi game. Compare that to Illinois, who had Alexander attend a football game and the whole stadium busted out a “We Want Cliff ” chant. Both DePaul and Illinois needed Alexander as their savior, but it was Illinois that provided the allure. For whatever allure Illinois had, Kansas drowned that out by taking over the United Center against Duke. It was everything that college basketball should be: a screaming crowd, the nation’s best players and the highest level of skill on display. “(The United Center game) changed a lot,” Alexander said. “I didn’t know how the crowd was and it was very exciting. I enjoyed it.” Alexander also mentioned that he didn’t want to stay home after living in Chicago for 17 years. Having just turned 18-years-old, Alexander has his whole life ahead of him to create a new story for himself and develop for the NBA. For DePaul, it’s the same old story. Another recruit skips town again.
with 14 points and Garrett Jr. ended up with 12, while forwards Tommy Hamilton IV and Melvin combined for 36 (13 for Hamilton and 23 for Melvin). Yet it was Melvin who took over in the second half. The senior forward scored 16 points in the half and grabbed nine rebounds. Not only did he fill up the stat sheet, Melvin also earned an appearance on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays with an electrifying dunk. Melvin surpassed Sammy Meiia as the ninth scoring leader in DePaul history and 26th in all-time rebounding list. “We would love to send (Melvin) and Brandon out on a positive note,” Purnell said. “It’s good to see (Melvin’s) play, even though we’re moving him around some, comfortable out there. I’m happy for him. “He was the man out there,” he said. “Hopefully there’s more to come.” The Blue Demons are now 17-3 when the team scores more than 80 points under Oliver Purnell.