National Football League
Podcast: Inside football locker rooms
National Football League

Podcast: Inside football locker rooms

Published Nov. 18, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

This podcast contains explicit language that fits within the context of the discussion.

Scott Fujita, Coy Wire and Brendon Ayanbadejo all enjoyed long football careers that had plenty of highlights. However, there were also lowlights, memories that have been ignited by the Jonathan Martin controversy in Miami.

Fujita, a Cal grad, Wire, a Stanford grad, and Ayanbadejo, a UCLA grad with a master's from George Washington, sat down and attempted to pull back the curtain from the often misunderstood world of the locker room. There was no sugarcoating or hiding the sorts of hazing, bullying and ribbing that went on at all levels: high school, college, pro.

Memories, sometimes brutal, are shared. Fujita discusses behavior early in his playing career that he looks back on with deep regret. Brendon talks of the surprising and harsh language that often came from team officials. Coy recalls an NFL system that took a toll on a young teammate.

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The discussion touches on controversial and touchy subjects: language, homophobia, racism, and the challenge of maintaining mental health in a league where any perceived weakness might end a career.

The trio offers an honest look into a world that often exists in secret, and provides tremendous insight into what’s working in the NFL locker room, what’s not, and what must be done to make things better.

Head over to the NFL on FOX Podcast channel on iTunes and click on "The NFL Roundtable" at the top. Or listen to it right here:

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