By Dr. Colleen McGlone
Every school year begin with a sense of anticipation. What adventures will come. What will this next school year bring? How will my team do? It seems like these questions never change as students return to classrooms and practices every year. The images these questions typically conjure are those that of new friendships, new knowledge, maybe even a championship run. All too often these same students end up with answering the questions with “I was bullied” or “I was hazed”. Numerous stories and headlines continue to reveal that hazing and bullying remain rampant in today’s society. Many experts continue to be alarmed over the rise and justification of hazing practices within the educational system as well as organizations in general. The media has highlighted several incidents that have garnered nationwide attention both inside and out of the sport realm. On any given week, we see a new headline regarding bullying and hazing activities for example in August, 2014 the University of New Mexico’s women’s Soccer teams opening game was cancelled due to hazing, the head coach was suspended and 16 players received suspension after the team hazed the new freshman. In August of 2013, Maine West High School is in the headlines when multiple students alleged hazing had occurred within the team over the course of two years. In March 2014, a dad in California filed for a restraining order to protect his 9 year old son from a bully at school. Another news story reveals that in February 2013, bullying led to a 6th grader in Pennsylvania being in a medically induced coma.
It is apparent that both bullying and hazing have become commonplace within our schools. Therefore, it is important for administrators to understand that hazing and bullying have similar components and outcomes however they differ in the reasoning behind the activities. In order to begin to understand the difference we must start with the definitions.
Bullying Defined
Bullying behavior is often difficult to measure and while most believe they will know it when they see it, this is not always the case due to the social norming of negative behaviors particularly in the sport and recreation arena. Therefore, in order to understand what bullying is one should start with the definition. Bullying is a specific type of aggression in which (1) the behavior is intended to harm or disturb, (2) the behavior occurs repeatedly over time, and (3) there is an imbalance of power, with a more powerful person or group attacking a less powerful one. This may be physical or psychological, and the aggressive behavior may be verbal (eg, name-calling, threats), physical (eg, hitting), or psychological (eg, rumors, shunning/exclusion) (Nansel et al, 2001).
Hazing Defined
Hazing is a broad term that encompasses many activities, situations and actions that an individual must tolerate in order to become part of the group or team. When trying to construct a definition of hazing, one must consider many different viewpoints. The definition and meaning of hazing often varies from one person to another. For example, an individual who is performing an act of hazing may define the term very differently than the person being hazed. Similarly, an administrator may perceive hazing and the various acts involved differently than a coach or parent. Furthermore, some individuals may only consider physical bodily acts as hazing, while others may include mental and sexual acts as hazing activities. The definitions of hazing become the central focus when administrators, coaches and managers are put in a position to decide if hazing occurred or if the activity was a case of horseplay gone wrong. While hazing has been acknowledged for centuries, there is no universally accepted definition. This may be due to the many forms and the variety of ways in which initiations and rituals take place within different organizations.
The Difference between Bullying and Hazing
The differences between the two behaviors can be subtle. However, the easiest way to identify which is which is to ask what is the reason behind the behavior or the outcome of the action. Is the person who is being targeted being excluded or included into the group or social situation? Bullying is typically aimed at those who are perceived as weaker or vulnerable. Hazing is aimed at those wanting to join and be accepted into a group by gaining the social acceptance of the group. In other words Bullying excludes a person from a group and hazing is imposed on someone who desires to become part of a group. Bulling tends to take part between two people or a very small group whereas hazing tends to occur in larger group settings within groups or teams.
Unfortunately some administrators and coaches tolerate both hazing and bullying by older or more prominent athletes on the team. Justifying the behavior by suggesting that “Boys will be boys”. This is an area of concern. No matter what one’s personal belief is as a manager of sport, you are charged with protecting those who are in your care. Therefore, you should ensure that you make it known you have a zero tolerance policy for both bullying and hazing. Even more so, it is imperative that coaches and administrators also model acceptable behavior. The acts of hazing and bullying of athletes by athletes and coaches is being beginning to be recognized as serious infraction of character and legal duty. As coaches and administrators the mistreatment of fellow human beings should not be tolerated or accepted.
The Legal Aspects Basics
Bullying legislation has been passed in 49 states with Montana being the only state without a bullying law at this time. However, only 20 states have laws that address cyberbullying directly.
Currently there is no federal law addressing bullying or cyberbullying. Upon review of these various state laws it is interesting to note that 44 states include school sanctions as part of the law and all 49 of the sates who have bullying law require a school policy be in place addressing the issue. As the number of reported hazing incidents has increased, so has the number of states that have passed legislation to deter hazing from occurring. Currently, there are 44 states with anti-hazing statutes while six states have not developed or introduced anti-hazing laws. Only the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming lack any type of specific hazing law (Nuwer, 2014). While many in those states have called for hazing laws, it is important to note that a specific hazing law may not be necessary as most activities associated with hazing fall under laws that are already in place. For example many hazing activities could fall under the auspices of assault and battery legislation. In 1969, 35 states had laws regarding hazing, this was the last year no fraternity, sorority or athletic death occurred in the U.S. (Hazing.hanknuwer.com). Hazing is punishable under criminal law in 40 states. Since hazing is considered a criminal act, the judicial system has established many other legal definitions that address and define hazing. Current hazing legislation varies from state to state, and the punishments for hazing may include a fine, imprisonment or both depending on the state and the severity of the hazing incident. With the various definitions of hazing, the average individual may have great difficulty determining what constitutes hazing, as well as what types of behaviors may be regarded as hazing. Similarly, when one looks at the legal definitions of hazing and anti-hazing statutes, it becomes increasingly difficult to develop legislation that encompasses all aspects of hazing without compromising constitutional rights. The ambiguity in hazing and bullying laws, combined with the continuance of hazing and bullying activities, has created the call from children’s advocates for the establishment of national anti-hazing legislation. This legislation may create consistency in determining the legal threshold for hazing, as well as the penalty for hazing.
McGlone is Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Recreation & Sport Management in the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies at Coastal Carolina University
