"Cool Post" or Cultural Blind Spot? Why I’m Not Sold on the NFL’s Latest Leadership Clubhouse

First of all, the algorithm is EVERYWHERE. This post popped up in my Instagram scroll today—even though I don’t follow the account. And how could it not? It’s about the NFL, it’s about culture in athletics, and it’s supposedly a way to expand athlete success off the field as well. Seems like a no-brainer “cool post” for me and TeamsOfMen, right?

Not exactly.

Where I take issue is two-fold:

First, the title—“A Clubhouse for Athletes”—makes me very wary. Why? Because without intentional deprogramming and unlearning, clubhouses, locker rooms, and team rooms are often CESSPOOLS for the perpetration of violence, bullying, and Man Box posturing by the male athletes who call those places home. People tell me all the time, “We got good kids.” And while I want to believe them, I also know that if we borrowed Susan Richards’ invisible powers from the Fantastic Four, we’d be appalled by what’s said and done in those rooms when we’re not there.

So just making “a clubhouse for athletes” a goal—without naming what’s actually inside those rooms? That’s worrisome for me.

Second, the first comment by the account itself—“Athletes make better leaders”—is IFFY at best, if not just flat-out wrong. Most team rooms are full of followers or obediently silent team members. The so-called “leaders” in the space are often the ones steeped in Man Box intimidation tactics, policing others with awful stereotypes about what type of man is allowed in the room. “No pussies.” “No fags.” “No softness.” Just a few of the exclusionary phrases you’ll hear echo in sport culture’s team rooms.

Sure—there can be great leaders. There can be galvanizers in those spaces. But what they lead others toward—or demand from them in tribute—is not inherently good. And it sure as hell isn’t better than what non-athlete spaces might produce.

We’d LOVE to change that with the work we do.

But we’re not there yet.

And from what I can see, this doesn’t appear to be a program that is either.

Coach Prompt:
What assumptions are we making when we claim our team rooms produce “better leaders”? Are we mistaking silence or obedience for growth?

Player Prompt:
If someone could hear everything that gets said in your locker room, would you be proud of it—or would you be hoping they missed the worst parts?