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[h=1]The quiet redemption of Jonathan Martin, the man at the center of the NFL’s infamous bullying scandal[/h]
By: Alysha Tsuji | May 13, 2016 8:00 am
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — When Jonathan Martin arrived to speak at Washington Manor Middle School just outside Oakland last Wednesday, students hurried to greet him and guide him to the auditorium where he would speak. They surrounded him, asking for photos and autographs.
It did not matter to them that Martin, once a second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, had washed out of football quietly before last season. Or that he is most known for making bullying allegations against his Dolphins teammates. The kids saw only someone who had made it to the NFL, someone famous.
Martin didn’t mind the attention. His stint as an NFL player — as brief and tortured as it was — is what gives him the ability to share his message now. He makes sense of why it went wrong by talking about how it went wrong. The kids listen, at first, because of his fame. His hope is that his message — about dealing with the effects of bullying and depression — reaches at least some of them.
Through three separate presentations — one for each grade — on behalf of Beyond Differences, an organization focused on eliminating social isolation, the majority of the 895 students sat quietly on the floor, listening to Martin share his life story.
Photo by Alysha Tsuji
Martin just received a degree from Stanford. He hasn’t given up on attempting a return to football and isn’t sure what he’ll do if he never plays again.
The future is uncertain. But for perhaps the first time he is finding solace in talking about his past. Plunging into his most painful memories is how he now finds peace.
“I’ve known ever since I was a kid that I was different from the other kids,” Martin began.
He slowly paced back and forth while he opened up about how he always felt more sensitive than everyone else.
“I was trapped in my own head often, and I would later learn that I have major depressive disorder, which means you get sad easier than other people, and I get anxiety to go along with that,” Martin said in his first talk to the 7th graders.
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/05/the-quiet-redemption-of-jonathan-martin
By: Alysha Tsuji | May 13, 2016 8:00 am
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — When Jonathan Martin arrived to speak at Washington Manor Middle School just outside Oakland last Wednesday, students hurried to greet him and guide him to the auditorium where he would speak. They surrounded him, asking for photos and autographs.
It did not matter to them that Martin, once a second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, had washed out of football quietly before last season. Or that he is most known for making bullying allegations against his Dolphins teammates. The kids saw only someone who had made it to the NFL, someone famous.
Martin didn’t mind the attention. His stint as an NFL player — as brief and tortured as it was — is what gives him the ability to share his message now. He makes sense of why it went wrong by talking about how it went wrong. The kids listen, at first, because of his fame. His hope is that his message — about dealing with the effects of bullying and depression — reaches at least some of them.
Through three separate presentations — one for each grade — on behalf of Beyond Differences, an organization focused on eliminating social isolation, the majority of the 895 students sat quietly on the floor, listening to Martin share his life story.
Photo by Alysha TsujiMartin just received a degree from Stanford. He hasn’t given up on attempting a return to football and isn’t sure what he’ll do if he never plays again.
The future is uncertain. But for perhaps the first time he is finding solace in talking about his past. Plunging into his most painful memories is how he now finds peace.“I’ve known ever since I was a kid that I was different from the other kids,” Martin began.
He slowly paced back and forth while he opened up about how he always felt more sensitive than everyone else.
“I was trapped in my own head often, and I would later learn that I have major depressive disorder, which means you get sad easier than other people, and I get anxiety to go along with that,” Martin said in his first talk to the 7th graders.
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/05/the-quiet-redemption-of-jonathan-martin
