I’ve spent a good deal of time reflecting on this Richie Incognito story and it’s been difficult to say the least. Clearly Incognito is going to take the majority of the blame in this situation, but there are many other parties who need to answer some questions as well. This list includes the entire Dolphins roster, the coaching staff, the front office, and of course, Jonathan Martin.
First off, we can all agree that Incognito is a jerk, right? I mean, he’s been voted as one of the league’s dirtiest players numerous times by his peers. The voicemail that has come to light, and supposedly there are more that will be made public soon, shows that he’s not a good person. Threatening someone’s life, saying you’re going to physically assault them and their mother, and using racial epithets are not things normal people do. Granted, we don’t know the context of the voicemail, but guess what? THAT DOESN’T MATTER!! Clearly it wasn’t a joke, Martin’s actions, or lack thereof, illustrate just how seriously he took what was said.
That brings me to the coaching staff. Reports surfaced on Wednesday that the coaches instructed Incognito to “toughen up” Martin. While I have no problem with this in a theoretical sense, what were they thinking by asking a guy like Incognito to do this? The guy has a history of problems, and now they’re basically giving him permission to be a bully? Not smart. Compound that with the fact that the staff had to know Martin was uncomfortable to say the least, and the problem is magnified.
Don’t think for a second that the coaches don’t know what is going on with the players. That’s what they’re there for. None of those guys need to be taught how to play football; most of them have been doing it all their lives. The coaches are there to call plays, set up schemes, go over game plans and most of all, manage personalities. At the professional level, the coaches aren’t teaching players anything. They are there to make sure the team functions as a unit. It is not possible that the entire coaching staff didn’t know the kind of treatment Martin was being subjected to. The fact that no stepped in and put a stop to it is may be even more appalling than the behavior itself.
What about the rest of the team? How does no one on that roster speak up? There are over 50 grown men on the roster for the Dolphins. Are you telling me that not a single one of them disagreed with what was going on? At this rate, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone on the roster did speak up only be told they needed to not worry about it and in turn receive threats as well. I’m not suggesting that every single person knew, but someone did. The problem is, no one did anything about it – Bystander 101. This leads me to believe that either Incognito ran that entire locker room, the players agreed with what was going on, or as I said before, someone spoke up and was chastised and probably threatened because of it.
There’s a trend starting to show itself here, and it’s not a good one.
Lastly, why didn’t Martin speak up before this? Why did he wait so long? Not only that, but how did he allow himself to be treated this way? I’m still waiting for him to tell his side of the story. I want to know what the straw was that finally broke him and why he never thought to speak to anyone about this. Someone in the media would’ve blown this story wide open. Martin is listed at 6’5 and 312 lbs – clearly not a small man. I find it incredibly hard to believe that at no point did he stand up for himself. If that did happen, it obviously didn’t work. He still left the team. Why? Maybe Martin was soft and did need toughening up, that is certainly believable. But whatever was happening definitely was not working, if anything, it was doing the exact opposite of what the Dolphins were hoping.
This isn’t the first time in recent memory that Miami has had trouble with someone “bullying” another. Jeff Ireland, the general manager of the Dolphins, notoriously asked Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute when Bryant was interviewing with teams before the NFL Draft. How exactly that is relevant is beyond me. It has also been alledged that when Martin’s agents told Ireland about the bullying, his response was that Martin should punch Incognito. Clearly there are issues within the Miami Dolphins organization that run from top to bottom, and they need to addressed by the NFL and soon.
This goes way beyond the rookies paying for dinner for the team. Is that fair? No, not really. But stuff like that has been happening in the NFL, and professional sports for longer than any of us have been watching them. There are rites of passage, and then there is bullying. So far, this ordeal is setting a new standard for bullying. But until all the facts are available, and who knows when if ever that will happen, we won’t know how deep this runs in Miami.
I would not be surprised to see Ireland fired and suspended by the NFL. Same goes for the majority of the Dolphins coaching staff. As for the players, I’d bet most of them get off without even a slap on the wrist. However I’d be shocked if a few weren’t punished, outside of Incognito of course. This could very likely end his career, and I think it should.
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