In a workplace or environment where it’s encouraged to intimidate and dominate your competition both physically and mentally, bullying is taught in sports from day one. Recreational leagues are a common place for bullying your competition, to weaken their confidence and to gain the upper hand on your opponent.
When I became a writer for Pittsburgh Sporting News, my fellow colleagues were quick to point out that thick skin was highly recommended in this position. This statement couldn’t be more true, as readers of your content will not always agree with your opinion and will almost certainly let you know about it.
The National Football League and the National Hockey League are two sports that absolutely thrive in the term “Bullying.” In Hockey, it’s legal to drop your gloves and knockout an opposing player with your fist-a-cuffs. The NHL has certain players on their teams that are in uniform for one reason, to intimidate and dominate opposing players both physically and mentally. There is no reason to have John Scott playing in the NHL today. At 6’8 and 270 lbs, Scott is deployed onto to the ice for one reason — to be a bully. Furthermore, Scott has played in 187 NHL games and in that time, has one goal and four assists.
Fighting in Hockey is very popular among the fans and I enjoy a great scrap. However, the best scraps come from over-boiled emotions that have two regular-shift players duking it out. There is nothing better than watching a player pick up a Gordy Howe hat-trick, a player who can skate, pass, shoot and fight when needed. The planned fights in the NHL are becoming old and repetitive and need to go away along with the players that bring nothing else to the table.
James Harrison in his prime was a beast, a truly intimidating presence on the field with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harrison was successful in so many ways because he was so highly respected and above all, he was feared. The Pittsburgh Steelers defense as a whole has been so successful over the years for the fear factor: Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, Levon Kirkland, Joel Steed, Jack Lambert, Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Troy Polamalu, the list goes on and on. All of these players were loved by fans and feared by opponents.
NFL running back, Ricky Williams on the subject of bullying.
“How is bullying something that’s even mentioned regarding the NFL? Because that’s kind of what we’re taught to do—at least on the field—is to bully the guy across from us so we can win the football game.
It’s kind of what we’re subjected to on a day-to-day basis that most people will never be able to understand… What we’re required to do physically, mentally and emotionally for the course of a season is astronomical—it’s amazing. And I’m not saying that it’s bad. I’m saying it just really speaks to what it takes to be a professional football player. And to me there’s no room to play the victim or to be bullied or to even have that discussion when it comes to the NFL. If you’re having that discussion, it just means that maybe you don’t belong in the NFL.”
To play sports even at an early age, mental toughness must be achieved or you simply won’t make it. At the professional level, competition is fierce, it’s nasty, and downright brutal. Your fellow competitors will always look for ways to gain the upper hand on you whether it’s physical or better yet, mental. Marc Andre-Fleury is without question one of the most physically talented net-minders in the NHL today. It was his mental toughness, his lack of confidence in himself that he and others started to question.
In closing, aside from the glamour and the celebrity status that comes along with being a professional player in sports today, exists another culture and environment that is so barbaric, so brutal, and quite honestly just mentally draining. That being said, these players know exactly what there getting themselves into as bullying is taught in sports from day one.
