Dave Zirin talks with filmmaker Byron Hurt about hazing culture
Photo of Byron Hurt featured on “Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin,” TRNN.
Officially, hazing is illegal and unwelcome just about everywhere you turn — but it continues as an open secret in far too many fraternities, sports teams, and other institutions. The latest revelations from Northwestern University’s football team¹ are a stark reminder that we have a long way to go to uproot the culture of hazing for good. Last week, filmmaker and anti-gender violence activist Byron Hurt, the director of the acclaimed new documentary HAZING, appeared on Dave Zirin’s TRNN show “Edge of Sports” for a wide-ranging discussion about the harm hazing does, the institutional conditions and gender dynamics that perpetuate it, and how we can stop it. This timely discussion gains even more significance as we approach National Hazing Prevention Week (Sept. 25-29), which serves as a time for communities to engage in intentional discussions about the problem of hazing.
Zirin is the co-producer, co-writer, and narrator of our new documentary Behind the Shield: The Politics & Power of the NFL, which examines some of the same issues Hurt explores in HAZING, including the devastating social costs of glamorizing violent masculinity and the culture of silence that grips so many institutions in the face of abuse.
You can watch Zirin’s full interview with Hurt on “Edge of Sports” here.
If you’re an educator or campus leader interested in using HAZING in your orientation programming or classes, you can find out how to get the film for educational use through MEF here. If you’re looking to help break the silence around hazing culture in your wider community, you can learn more about out how to host a public screening here.
Behind the Shield: The Power & Politics of the NFL is also available for educational use and campus and community screenings. You can stream the film now on Kanopy through university and public libraries, get it in multiple other formats including DVD, or sign up to host a screening.
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