Posted on by Shannon Shark @metspolice

Mets rookies dress up as superheros…but is hazing OK in 2014?

Just a question.  Is hazing OK?

If the senior partners at your law-firm would like to see you dress up like Wonder Woman tomorrow is that cool?

How about those of us who have worked here at the bank make the new guy dress-up to show he’s one of the guys?

Will the head of your employer’s media relations send out the picture?  Is that OK?

Is sports somehow different?

What else is different about pro-sports that might not be in non-sports situations?

Nobody in this photo looks like they are distressed….but I think it’s worth the discussion.  Discuss!

10 Replies to “Mets rookies dress up as superheros…but is hazing OK in 2014?”

  1. Nothing wrong with a little good-natured hazing.  When I was a freshman in high school, 600 years ago, we had to dress as cleaning women (think Carol Burnett) and take the public bus to school ( I took 2!). Yes, sports is different because of the team atmosphere which is lacking in most regular work environments.

  2. I agree with Mary. This is good natured fun. It is not a mean spirited prank. I work at a major Corporation and we have odd dress up/games etc. as team building activities. I love your tweets and blog posts and enjoyed your book but in this instance I think you are being a little cranky.

  4. It seems that Shannon has no interest in writing a well thought out story so she wrote this garbage. This isn’t hazing. Every club had a bullpen rookie who has to wear a “Dora” (or some other type) book bag filled with candy, gum, chew or whatever they need. This also is not hazing. I’m sure you knew it but you got lazy…hazing is acts completely against your will, similar to rape. None of those guys looked raped.

  5. I think Shannon was using the generic description of hazing and Shannon is a he not a she. Back in the day, hazing was primarily used in Greek fraternities and sororities. I remeber having to dress up and march around our campus with the rest of my pledge class. Some of the antics were dumb, some embarassing but nothing to get upset over. Unfortunately, hazing has now taken on a much darker and sometimes dangerous connotation and it certainly needs to be eliminated. But, it was an interesting question and has resulted in various responses to Metspolice.

  6. Haze1234 Jay Horowitz called it Rookie Hazing himself. This is the definition to hazing,”he imposition of strenuous, often humiliating, tasks as part of a program of rigorous physical training and initiation.” Maybe “Haze” you should have not been lazy and look up what hazing actually is.

  7. Mediagoon metspolice It is all done in fun. I had to do it along with every other rookie. All in good fun! Best workplace there is! #LGM

  8. GlendonRusch thanks for answering-We wanted an opinion of someone who has been there done that over at metspolice

  9. poor Shannon getting battered.  this is much easier hazing than what I went through in a college fraternity, and I wasn’t making rookie scale wages either (400k+) and i rarely smiled broadly the whole time i was pledging.

    They all looked like they were having a blast.  Maybe it should be called ‘rookie busting chops’.

  10. Willingness to participate or comply with tradition is irrelevant in determining hazing. Hazing is about an unhealthy power hierarchy, regardless of how much fun it appears. That any mature adult finds this appropriate is puzzling. Under today’s critical eye, it seems at the very least that professional teams should end this behavior for risk management purposes. More importantly, shouldn’t we treat people with respect regardless of their profession?

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