The largest skilled sports leagues within the United States have handled a smattering of hazing points over the previous decade, starting from NFL offensive lineman Richie Incognito’s dangerous conduct to Major League Baseball cracking down on rookies dressing up as ladies.

In response, a number of the leagues have crafted devoted anti-hazing insurance policies, whereas others haven’t.

As Northwestern’s soccer program faces a barrage of hazing allegations, The Associated Press requested all 4 main U.S. professional leagues about their anti-hazing insurance policies.

Baseball seems to have essentially the most in depth anti-hazing and anti-bullying coverage, which was first launched in 2016. The NBA stated hazing was prohibited in its operations guide. The NFL and NHL don’t seem to have particular tips, as a substitute saying they consider any potential hazing points are coated in private conduct or anti-discrimination insurance policies.

While former Northwestern gamers say hazing was so rampant within the soccer program it had change into normalized, the largest professional sports leagues within the U.S. have principally averted high-profile scandals over the previous decade with the notable exception of Incognito.

The Miami offensive lineman was suspended for the ultimate eight video games of the 2013 season after teammate Jonathan Martin abruptly give up the crew amid accusations he was being bullied. An NFL investigation decided Incognito and two different Dolphins offensive linemen persistently harassed Martin.

MLB’s hazing steering got here seven years in the past, after photos of rookies in ladies’s clothes grew to become widespread on social media. The follow was principally light-hearted, however more and more frowned upon as attitudes round gender roles and stereotypes modified.

The league issued its anti-hazing coverage in 2016, including it as a complement and clarification to the “Workplace Code of Conduct: Harassment & Discrimination” part within the sport’s collective bargaining settlement.

The coverage says that gamers could not “engage in a pattern of verbal or physical conduct that is designed to demean, disgrace, or cause mental or physical harm.”

It additionally forbids some initation rituals, resembling “dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or other characteristic.” Many gamers criticized the coverage when it was created, however it has appeared to successfully finish the once-common, cross-dressing rituals.

The league says its operations guide strictly prohibits bullying and hazing, which is outlined as conduct that “harms, intimidates, offends, degrades, threatens, or humiliates another person or creates a risk to their health or safety.”

In response to an AP request for its anti-hazing coverage, league spokesman Brian McCarthy referred to the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Those tips don’t point out hazing particularly, however do count on personnel to “show respect for others inside and outside our workplace.”

It additionally expects gamers and crew personnel to keep away from doing issues which can be “illegal, violent, dangerous, or irresponsible, puts innocent victims at risk, damages the reputation of others in the game, and undercuts public respect and support for the NFL.”

The league stated any punishment for hazing would fall below the commissioner’s broad powers inside the collective bargaining settlement to self-discipline unacceptable conduct.

“The NHL believes that evaluating every incident on a case-by-case basis is more effective than establishing a matrix that assesses predetermined penalties for certain acts without any context,” NHL spokesman John Dellapina stated in an e-mail.

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AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo and AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

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