Hazing

I remembered being shocked my freshman year of college during fraternity pledging as a hallmate told me rumors of the naked winter runs and lockdowns that constituted hazing. He was lucky, he told me, that his frat mostly made him memorize minute details of the group’s history.

His experience joining a fraternity, it turns out is, is quite similar to what rookies must go through each year as they join professional teams. The only difference is that rather than occurring in secret rooms, hazing in sports often takes place on the playing field.

Last week, when Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow showed up at training camp with a ridiculous haircut, no one batted an eyelash. Veteran teammates freely admitted to shaving half of Tebow’s head as a way of welcoming him to the team.

The Association for Applied Sport Psychology defines hazing as “any activity expected of athletes joining a sport team that humiliates or abuses them,” regardless of whether the athlete wants to participate. In addition to embarrassing new players, it can also involve rookies performing menial tasks for the veterans.

Earlier this summer, Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver, Dez Bryant made the news by refusing to carry shoulder pads for Roy Williams, a veteran wide receiver.

Although Bryant’s act of defiance won’t affect his playing time — he is even predicted to take Williams’s place — many viewed his refusal as a sign of disloyalty, with Williams telling the press, “We might have to go to step two.”

Hazing is so common throughout many organizations because of its known bonding properties. But how exactly does giving someone an embarrassing haircut or making them dress up in tights as superheroes promote devotion?

While logic would seem to indicate that being ridiculed or bossed around by veteran teammates would induce negative feelings towards the team, the opposite is usually true.

As the new player hauls pads or dresses foolishly, his thought process often goes like this: “Why am I doing this?” And because the brain prefers thoughts and actions to be aligned, the rookie’s next thought is typically, “I must really like the team. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

This thought process, known as cognitive dissonance, tricks the player’s mind into thinking he likes the team more than he might have otherwise. While a player may not necessarily think of all this while lugging around water jugs, there is no doubt the possibility flares up that next year, he will be able to make a rookie carry his pads.

A possible example of a hazing “success” story is that of Chris Paul, a guard for the New Orleans Hornets. As a rookie at USA Basketball Camp four years ago, he carried bags for LeBron James. Today he is one of LeBron’s closest friends in the NBA.

While there is no doubt that extreme hazing can be traumatic or even dangerous, a little manual labor never harmed anyone, especially not a professional athlete.

So as his peers hand off their pads next year to a new class of rookies, and Bryant continues to haul his own, maybe he’ll actually wish he’d gotten hazed.

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