Just because rookie teammates go along with childish requests from veteran players doesn’t mean it’s not hazing.
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For the St. Louis Cardinals, Speedos.
For the Los Angeles Dodgers, professional wrestler impersonation.
For the Minnesota Twins, spandex singlets.
For the New York Mets, superhero underoos.
For the Kansas City Royals, prisoner attire.
Rookie Dress Up Day, as it is colloquially referenced. A day at the conclusion of Major League Baseball’s regular season on which rookies from many teams are hazed by their veteran teammates.
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All common excuses trying to downplay the fact that what we see each Rookie Dress Up Day is sponsored and institutionalized hazing on a national stage.
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“Lighten up, it’s just a few men in their underwear.”
“They all look like they’re enjoying it.”
“No one is getting hurt. It’s harmless fun.”
“This isn’t college. They’re professionals. They could have said no.”
All common excuses trying to downplay the fact that what we see each Rookie Dress Up Day is sponsored and institutionalized hazing on a national stage. After all, the pictures making their rounds from the Mets and the Royals came not from an individual player, but from the team’s official Twitter page.
All common excuses that overlook a crucial aspect of hazing; consent is not a defense against a hazing act. Put simply, saying that someone could have said no or willingly participated in the hazing act is not a credible legal (in most states) or moral defense against hazing. Yes, everyone has choice in all they do, but consider the psychological pressure (and potentially financial pressure in MLB) one faces when placed in a hazing situation.
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Case in point. I played Division III soccer in college. During my first few weeks as a freshman player, I was taken on a team run into the woods, asked to run up a large hill, and then told to roll down with my freshman teammates. By the time we reached the bottom, our older teammates were nowhere to be found.
To the casual observer, I looked like I was enjoying it. After all, if I didn’t laugh off the anxiety and fear of what would happen if I didn’t agree, I might have incurred more.
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I was required to sing a song and dance like the team’s pet monkey while the older players sat around me and my freshman teammates at a senior player’s apartment.
Most disgusting of all, I was required to chug a beer from a senior member’s used soccer cleat and suck the cleat dry, lest I be forced to chug another if any liquid dripped to the ground.
To the casual observer, I looked like I was enjoying it. After all, if I didn’t laugh off the anxiety and fear of what would happen if I didn’t agree, I might have incurred more.
To the casual observer, no one was being hurt. This is because no physical injury took place, but I lost chunks of my dignity each time I sucked from a dirty shoe or sang while others chugged beers and egged me on.
It should not have been my responsibility to explain my consent, nor even have to choose to consent, to requests like these. It should have been the older players’ responsibility to never put me in such a situation.
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To the casual observer, I could have said no. I could have refused to participate. True, in theory. But consider my psychological alternatives at that time. If I said no, was I willing to be ostracized as a teammate for the entire season and perhaps for my entire four years of playing? If I said no, was I willing to walk away from the team completely and give up my dream of playing collegiate soccer? If I said no, was I willing to have my name smeared as someone considered “less than a man” because I couldn’t take a little “harmless” fun?
As an 18 year-old young man, the answer to all those questions was, “No.” It should not have been my responsibility to explain my consent, nor even have to choose to consent, to requests like these. It should have been the older players’ responsibility to never put me in such a situation.* Consent is not a defense against hazing.
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The average age of a Major League Baseball rookie is in the mid 20’s. These same young men, while wearing a professional baseball team’s jersey, are only a few years beyond college age. Why should we expect that the psychological dilemmas inherent in hazing are any different for these young men than they are for collegians?
Major League Baseball, glorifying hazing does not model the healthy relationships and team dynamics many, myself included, try so hard to instill in our school and college-aged young men. It is well past the time that these behaviors be extinguished from America’s pastime.
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Image credit: bryce_edwards/flickr
*Admittedly, I tacitly participated in similar hazing instances for future freshmen soccer players. I didn’t have the clarity that I do now, and for that I carry deep regret for not speaking up. As a result, I don’t approach this topic without blood on my own hands.