“The measure of your character and mental toughness is the space between what you are and what you could be doing.”  William James Moore

Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathon Martin was subjected to harassment and bullying by is fellow teammates, but mostly by offensive lineman Richie Incognito. Martin was harassed almost daily, which had a great effect on his overall mental health. It had such an impact on his emotional well- being it destroyed his football mental toughness and he ended up leaving the team on October 28, 2013.

If any athlete is subjected to this type of emotional abuse it will eventually take its toll and destroy their mental game.

Being constantly bullied and harassed is difficult to deal with and even more difficult in an environment where you supposed to be a “tough guy” and taught not to show emotions.

Martin faced such cruelty and didn’t have the appropriate outlet to assist him. Who is at fault? There is enough fault to go around. The report is over 100 pages long! Therefore, let me focus on the solution.

In situations like this having a clinical psychologist is the best course of action. Once the player is stabilized from a pure clinical perspective working with a football psychologist and mental game coach would be the next step, while maintaining some level of clinical contact with the clinical psychologist.

Football psychology is the study of a person’s behavior in football. It is a specialization that seeks to understand psychological/mental factors that affect performance.

The mental game coach will apply this information to enhance the individuals’ performance. It deals with increasing performance by managing emotions and minimizing the psychological effects of poor performance.

Mental toughness doesn’t develop with bullying a player and telling them to “toughen up.” A player’s mental toughness develops from hours of practicing and experience of overcoming obstacles and setbacks with the assistance of a mental game coach.

A team that wins championships is going to have great mental toughness, an A+ mental game, and above average physical skills. They are going to perform at a high level with each other, not facing obstacles such as the obstacles Martin faced.

A championship team is going to overcome obstacles within their organizations, not allowing them to get this out of hand. Championship teams win together and lose together, without causing drama with their own team.

It is important for the team leaders and season players to control the activities in the locker room and lead the team in a positive way. The lack of good leadership will also destroy football mental toughness. The team leader is expected to help strengthen the player’s mental and physical game to the extent that he can as the team leader then, if needed, refer to a professional.

Instead, Incognito completely destroyed Martins football confidence, mental toughness, mental game and his overall mental health.