The NFL knows how to create “special teams” and they’re doing just that by bringing together Tony Dungy, Don Shula, Dan Marino, Curtis Martin and Jason Taylor to create a new code of conduct.

Can a Code of Conduct protect employees from bullying behavior? A few months back we published a blog post about just that. The ruling in Mark A. Kuzma (Plaintiff) v. MBNA Institutional PA Services, LLC (Defendant) upheld MBNA’s right to terminate an employee for repeated breeches of professional conduct. The fact that the NFL has chosen recognizable and trusted representatives to outline what types of behavior will or won’t be tolerated shows that they understand the core of the problem they face. Hopefully, other employers will follow their example.

“They’re not just going to be looking into the Richie Incognito and Jonathon Martin situation but they’re going to be evaluating the entire culture of the Dolphins locker room. And of course… if you’re going to be evaluating the culture of one locker room, to have proper context, you’ll also need to understand the culture in all 31 locker rooms… there’s a lot of wonder if this is the beginning of a very different period in terms of culture and accountability taking the subjectivity out of NFL” [starts 2:50 into video clip]

ESPN’s Two Minute Drill spoke with Curtis Martin about his involvement in developing the new policy:

In all the years you played, did you ever witness this type of bullying?

Martin: No, I’ve never seen anything like it, personally. I’ll be really interested to see the final facts. In a situation like this, you have to get all the facts and make a judgment. When I was playing, there’s no way I’d be aware of a situation like this and not address it. I take this issue very seriously. I hear a lot of people saying a lot of things. People say [the Dolphins] had to know it was going on, but that’s not necessarily true. Really, I’d rather wait until we have all the facts before I say anything more about it.

The NFL is still investigating allegations about what actually took place between Incognito & Martin.