Trump, locker rooms and the ‘authenticity’ of the moment

October 12, 2016

When Donald Trump excused his lewd, explosive conversation with Billy Bush from 2005 as “locker room talk,” my ears pricked up and not just because the gender wars he’s engendered have been such excellent fodder for a blog titled “The Games Men Play.”

In my forthcoming novel “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press, 2017), about a gay, biracial quarterback’s quest for identity, acceptance, success and love in the NFL, I have a couple of locker room moments in which women are discussed and even confronted in a less than respectful manner. ...

Was Jonathan Martin the strongest Dolphin?

February 27, 2014

So Jonathan Martin – the Miami Dolphin who was so tormented by teammates that he’s checked himself into a psychiatric facility – doesn’t want to return to the Dolphins. Gee, what a surprise.

This as we’re learning more about the teammates who abetted Richie Incognito in harassing him – John Jerry and Mike Pouncey. Apparently, Incognito, who’s been suspended, has tried to make nice with Martin while telling Pouncey that Martin is a snitch. It would all be so very high school if the abuse weren’t so striking and the reactions so distressing. Many posters on ESPN have called Martin a pussy, suggesting that his emotional fragility may make him a liability for any team. (The misogyny is palpable.) Apparently, an unwillingness to take any more racist and homophobic slurs, sexual remarks about your mother and sister or unwanted simulated sex acts makes you a wuss.

What’s wrong with these people? To hear some fans tell it, nothing.

More than semi-tough – the brutal ballet of the NFL

February 17, 2014

We take a break from the Olympics to reflect on a disturbing story that led many newspapers and programs Saturday – the report on the hazing of former Miami Dolphin Jonathan Martin, which paints an ugly portrait of homophobia, misogyny, racism and inappropriate touching.

The report concludes that teammate Richie Incognito and his acolytes John Jerry and Mike Pouncey harassed not only Martin but another young offensive lineman and an assistant trainer. Particularly revolting were the sexual comments about Martin’s sister, who has nothing to do with any of this. (Incognito’s lawyer, Mark Schamel, has said the report is replete with errors.) Whatever took place was so unnerving to Martin that he left the team and sought psychiatric help.

What is going on here? In an Op-Ed piece for the Feb. 15 edition of The New York Times, Nicholas Dawidoff, author of “Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent world of NFL Football,” suggests that homophobia is the sport’s shield against its inherent homoeroticism. Think about it – all those men bending over, passing the ball between their legs, piling on top of one another, often in the most violent ways. Then there’s the intensity of the locker room with its attendant nudity. Read more