Culture You Brag About vs. Climate You Can’t Hide

I saw this clip of Saquon Barkley with the Eagles — warning his teammates during warm-ups, “I’m mic’d up.”

It made me think about how often we as coaches go all-in on the importance of culture. After a big win, someone on staff or on the team is quick to credit the culture. And sure, there’s truth in that.

But here’s what gets lost: we’ve turned “culture” into a catch-all phrase. What it often leaves out is climate — the sounds, the language, the way it actually feels to be around our players and coaches.

Because if Barkley fully believed the “sounds of the Eagles” were something to showcase, he wouldn’t need to warn anyone. That warning says something. Sure, maybe 25% of it is about protecting private info. But the other 75%? Likely about shielding the public from banter that wouldn’t hold up to the light of day.

And that’s where the real issue is. People defend it as “locker room talk.” But what sits in that gray zone of “not okay for society, but somehow fine for men in a locker room”? Almost always language and behaviors steeped in misogyny, ignorance, or Man Box policing.

That’s the problem. And every time a player warns his teammates about being mic’d up, it reinforces my point.

Coach Prompt:
If your players were mic’d up at practice tomorrow, would you feel pride in what others hear — or panic about what might get exposed?

Player Prompt:
Would you need to warn your teammates if you were mic’d up? What does that say about the climate you’re helping create?