Bullying in the National Spotlight

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Recommended: Harmful effects of bullying in school

As a young man growing up, I have had my share of hardships and difficulties with bullies and being bullied. My personal experiences of bulling started early in middle school and continued throughout junior high and high school. Given a small frame and statue, classmates would often create pranks targeting me. The pranks didn’t the start out as f bulling; name calling started early on my school career. Names such as four eyes, studderbox, nerd, mute, Steve Urkel, were just some of the many names I endured while in school. Entering high school as a freshmen was one of the most enjoyable and traumatic times as a young man. Going into high school with a new attitude, I thought the bulling was over. By the second week of school, I found myself being bullied by another classmate. This classmate used intimidation and threats to do physical harm if I ever told anyone. The bulling started becoming more public by being ridiculed by others. My self esteem became low and I developed a shell of myself. I would beat myself up after being bullied, hitting walls and door as if it was the bully. One day a coach came to ask me if I would be interested in seeing what high school wrestling consisted of. I instantly fell in love with wrestling but had underlined motives of learning moves to use on others such as my bullies.
Once I joined the wrestling team, I sense of pride and respect for myself returned. This sense was short lived for only a month, when the football players who wrestled came to practice. It became apparent that I was the smallest on the wrestling team and became the practice dummy. The biggest wrestler on the team was called the heavyweight since he stood six feet and weighed about two hundred and ninety pounds. He became my wo...

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...Exploitative Athletic Hazing And Title IX in The Public School Locker Room. Western New England Law Review, 5377.

Ury, W.L. (2000).The Third Side.New York: Penguin Books.

Van Raalte, J. L., Cornelius, A. E., Linder, D. E., & Brewer, B. W. (2007). The Relationship Between Hazing and Team Cohesion.Journal Of Sport Behavior, 30(4), 491-507.

Waldron, J. J., Lynn, Q., & Krane, V. (2011). Duct Tape, Icy Hot & Paddles: Narratives of Initiation onto US Male Sport Teams. Sport, Education And Society,16(1), 111-125.

Waldron, J. J., & Kowalski, C. L. (2009). Crossing the Line: Rites of Passage, Team Aspects, and Ambiguity of Hazing. Research Quarterly For Exercise And Sport,80(2), 291-302.

Wolke, D., Copeland, W., Angold, A., & Costello, E. (n.d). Impact of Bullying in Childhood on Adult Health, Wealth, Crime, and Social Outcomes.Psychological Science, 24(10), 1958-1970.

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