Junior English major

Well America, we’re at it again. Violence in sports is back in the news. In the days since the public implosion of the Miami Dolphins’ locker room, questions about aggression and bullying in professional sports again have captured national interest. Are our sports too violent? And if so, should we change them?

Two of America’s greatest sports, football and hockey, don’t just involve aggressive play, they’re absolutely dependent upon it. In the NFL, effort is synonymous with aggression. There’s a reason that last week, after a big loss to New England, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin threatened to bench any player who failed to display what is essentially the combative mentality expected in physical sports.

The situation in Miami, like the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints last season, has highlighted the potential failings of coaches in professional sports. The coach is expected to lead by example. If he isn’t aggressive, why should his players be? Football and hockey are contact sports. To be good, players must be not only willing but also eager to play physically. Without the right mindset and without pressure from the coaching staff to push themselves — to tackle that 6-foot-4, 230-pound behemoth running the slant route through the defensive line, or to slam that defenseman into the Plexiglas, shake off the ice and power through to the puck — the players don’t just lose, they fail to play the sport as it’s designed.

However, there’s a limit to what coaches should ask, and allow, of their players. It comes down to good leadership.

It might still be too early to pass judgment on Miami’s coaching staff. It’s too easy to lay the blame for the Martin-Incognito debacle on the shoulders of coach Joe Philbin and general manager Jeff Ireland, even if there is talk of them losing their jobs by the time this all calms down. As outsiders, we simply don’t know what’s acceptable in the Dolphins’ locker room, what counts as a joke and what crosses the line.

In moments like these, the collective finger always seems to point toward a jaundiced NFL culture. There’s something to be said for that. Like many sports, football still operates under the stunted Cro-Magnon characteristic of “being a man.” You might suppose we’ve moved past this sort of thinking, but it continues to linger.

Let’s be clear about one thing, though. There’s nothing about violence or bullying of any kind that makes a player better or a man tougher. Miami’s problems aren’t due to Incognito being aggressive or American sports encouraging a culture of violence. If anything, they exist because Incognito is an asshole. A good coach knows the difference. A good coach knows how to separate the field from the locker room and how to help players understand that separation, too.

Encouraging aggressiveness on the field or in the rink is an integral part of the game, but it has to be kept there. This is a basic, essential aspect of healthy team sports and one that, when managed successfully, creates not only a team dynamic impossible to find anywhere off the field but also a place for players and fans alike to love their sports.

Liam Casey is a junior English major. He can be reached at lcaseydbk@gmail.com.