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Professional sports locker rooms are notorious for the playful teasing and hazing rookies and new members of the team sometimes have to endure.
But according to a report by FOX Sports, the situation may have gotten out of hand with the Miami Dolphins -- so much so that starting offensive lineman Jonathan Martin reached his limit and has taken a personal leave of absence from the team.
FOX reports that Martin has had to endure "an abusive environment" during his one-and-a-half seasons with Miami and has been the subject of constant bullying from his teammates.
The taunting included personal and family insults, including being branded with the nickname of "Big Weirdo."
According to FOX's Jay Glazer, the last straw for the offensive tackle came on Monday when he sat down to eat lunch with a bunch of other players. Those players immediately stood up and left when he tried to join them.
The team has not commented on Martin's absence from the club and the 2012 second-round draft choice out of Stanford was noticeably absent from the team's Thursday night game against Cincinnati.
The official injury report listed the as "out" due to illness. Martin has helped boost the Dolphins offensive line, having started all 23 games during his brief NFL career.
Teammates deny the teasing was anything out of the ordinary and Martin had recently posted on his Facebook page: "Happy Halloween! Don't believe everything you read."
