The Miami Dolphins appear to be shredding apart at the seams and, as mostly everyone probably knows, a lot of their issues extend beyond the playing field.
The Jonathan Martin story has taken over a variety of news networks. It is receiving unbelievable exposure and has Miami management so disgusted at the negative attention that owner Stephen Ross has requested a meeting between himself and Martin.
The NFL has stepped in and said it desires to meet with Martin first, an indication that they wish to be the first to interview him prior to any other outside contact. This could be in order to better understand the depth of his desired legal action and with which parties he would be taking offense.
Martin’s past and overall family background has been well documented following this scenario’s unraveling in recent days. His father is an attorney who is also a professor at a state school outside of Los Angeles. His mother is a corporate attorney who works for Toyota. They both, along with numerous additional family members, graduated from Harvard.
The entire scope of the issues faced by Martin during his tenure in Miami (which now appears to be over) is extensive. He was hazed in a variety of fashions, most notably in the form of a voicemail left by fellow offensive linemen Richie Incognito.
Two camps have evolved regarding this case. In one, you have people who truly believe Martin and that he may very well have had a psychological breakdown following a slew of incidents. They also likely view the Miami Dolphins workplace as one that clearly lacked the proper structure and sense of reason to enable players to treat each other in a manner that would be deemed appropriate for a prototypical work environment.
Those same individuals will also likely buy into the idea that the Dolphins as an organization are responsible for a lot of this. Their management and coaching, at a minimum, allowed racial harassment to go unnoticed and, in the worst case scenario, supported it.
Then there are the folks who understand the concept of team sports and what a locker room entails. An NFL headquarters is a very unique place to work. You can use your imagination to figure out how it works, or you can also check out shows like the ESPN hit series “Playmakers,” to get a more concrete idea. Countless analysts have shed light on this factor in recent weeks, alluding to the unique circumstances that envelope most NFL locker rooms.
For them, the derogatory language thrown in the direction of Martin was simply a sign of the times. It was indicative of a culture that has enabled many of all colors to get away with racially motivated language. These people believe that locker room culture has taken on a transcendent feel in recent years that embodies the ideals of a combat zone. If you can’t take the heat attached to some fiery language, how are you going to hold up in a sport based on organized violence?
Legal courts and such are designed to sort through these matters. They are called upon to investigate and determine whether or not a situation was in any way criminal or negligent in nature.
But labor laws have become far more advanced in recent times. In a case like this, Martin would really have to prove two things in order to advance his motion. He would need to establish that Incognito and others actually did things to him that completely crossed the line of “normal workplace behavior.” He would also have to link those statements and actions to having caused a mental breakdown on his part. This second piece would likely enable him to receive punitive damages in such a case, and would also make it far more lucrative as opposed to a standard harassment case.
Proving that Incognito and maybe even other players crossed the line should not be difficult. In that case, the Dolphins and perhaps the people involved specifically (whomever they are) would be penalized in some civil or regulatory fashion most likely.
But Martin’s lawyers would also need to establish that he was subject to some sort of extraordinary workplace environment. Case law could come into play as well, opening up a more vast can of worms.
Perhaps the best comparison to make would be the profession of a law enforcement official. There have been instances in which officers who witnessed a killing or violent crime have attempted to receive time off in order to deal with the psychological affects of what they viewed, only to have their attempts denied with the understanding that what they endured did not qualify as “extraordinary” given their occupation.
At the same time, all of those scenarios are taken on a case by case basis, with a select few officers winning their claims. The job of a police man is obviously much different from that of a pro football player. But the idea is that the workplace within which that individual operates is so unique to what we typically envision a prototypical labor establishment to be that it would need its own set of rules so to speak.
Was Martin really pushed to the limit due to the graphic nature of Incognito’s remarks? Could it be possible that Martin was exposed to that sort of conversation at another level during his development? It’s unlikely that anyone was talking to him like that at “John Thomas Dye School,” one of the L.A. area’s top three most prestigious elementary schools, or during his time at Harvard-Westlake School or Stanford for that matter.
Martin’s background probably never put him in contact with an individual along the lines of Incognito, making it plausible that he really had little idea as to what he was getting into when he entered the NFL. Martin’s mother, Jane Howard-Martin, is probably more than cognizant of the issues at hand here. She once wrote various literature on this very subject, with the most notable example being a piece titled, “A Critical Analysis of Judicial Opinions in Professional Employment Discrimination Cases.”
Would this case qualify as discriminatory? I highly doubt that. It is not as if Martin was blatantly penalized in a way based on his skin color. By all accounts, his play on the field and overall attitude were the trigger point of management trying to “toughen him up.” But lawyers can twist and turn reality on a number of fronts, and it’ll be intriguing to see how this plays out.
Speaking of profession specific generalizations, lawyers in America don’t always have the best or must trustworthy reputation. I’ve always felt that legal counsel is incredibly important. People throughout our nation’s history have quite clearly needed help when the government and other organizations attack them. Lawyer’s often see the dollar signs more so than anything else, but the good ones speak truth that would otherwise be ignored in many situations.
Martin’s family doesn’t appear to need money. Yes, this could be a landmark case and decision that would award him millions on top of some, perhaps unwanted, fame. But the innate beliefs regarding socially acceptable behavior is also something that this family probably doesn’t completely understand as it relates to a locker room setting. I’d expect the parents of Jon Martin to be at a loss for words regarding the language their son was exposed to at times. That doesn’t mean that what he endured was in any way unusual, however.
I look forward to the development of this case and what it could mean in the future. Personally, I hope Martin’s family is not able to collect money that belongs to someone else based on factors that paint him as a victim within the scope of Florida employment law.
But I do hope this situation enables people to be a bit more compassionate in general while also understanding of reality. The locker room can be a vicious place. Words and actions could, without question, break a person down mentally. People in this country take their jobs very seriously. Most of us don’t need a coworker in our ear when we typically already have a boss chirping away as it is.
At the same time, handling a situation like a man is something people have to do in life, and that undoubtedly applies to the workplace as well. I don’t believe Jon Martin stood up for himself the way every human should. That won’t look good for him in his pursuit to continue his NFL career. Employers want courageous individuals who attack situations head on. Martin didn’t do that here, and I truly hope he is unable to profit from legal loopholes that seem to indicate he underwent some sort of “extraordinary hardship.”
Legal courts are a slippery slope. Should a judge in Florida allow for Martin to be perceived as being in the right here, it would enable a plethora of other such cases to advance in other states and regions. Perhaps we need those scenarios brought to light as well. Or maybe, just maybe, people need to realize that life isn’t always fair.
