It’s generally accepted that, after Ted Wells completes his Miami investigation and Commissioner Roger Goodell metes out discipline, the NFL will send a clear message to all teams about what will and won’t be tolerated among teammates in the future.
For now, no message has been sent. Per a league source, the only memo sent by the NFL to the teams to date on the topic relates to the appointment of Wells, an outside lawyer, to conduct the investigation.
In contrast, the NBA already has sent a memo to its teams regarding hazing. Per Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the NBA memo mentions the Dolphins situation and outlines a long list of conduct that league policy already prohibits.
The banned conduct includes, via Stein, “any physical abuse or threats of violence; verbal abuse focused on an individual’s race, nationality, color, gender, age, religion, sexuality, etc.; destruction, defacement or theft of a fellow player’s personal property; engaging in any activity that intimidates or threatens fellow players with ostracism or inflicts extreme mental stress, embarrassment, humiliation or shame; and forcing an individual to engage in any activity or perform any task that violates federal, state or local law or NBA rules and regulations.”
NBA players also are prohibited from forcing other players “to unreasonably pay for meals, travel, entertainment expenses, goods or services that are being solely enjoyed by others as well as imposing physical activities on a fellow player — such as exposure to weather, confinement in a restricted area, or consumption of food, liquid or substance — that leads to unreasonable risk for the individual or adversely affects their mental or physical health or safety.”
As Stein explains it, the NBA culture is different from the NFL’s when it comes to the treatment of younger players. That culture apparently extends to the NBA’s league office, given the speed with which the NBA has reacted to a problem that didn’t even arise in their sport.