Dubin Incognito Story

Martin v. Incognito: Was it malicious?

A Miami Dolphins player was accused of maliciously hazing his teammate.

Richie Incognito is indefinitely suspended from the Miami Dolphins for supposedly hazing his teammate, Jonathan Martin. He acknowledges that he has  previously been a mean and poor teammate. (Photo by Jane Greenberg/Getty Images)

Two Miami Dolphins players are in the midst of a hazing scandal. Offensive lineman Jonathan Martin stormed out of his team’s lunchroom after Richie Incognito and other teammates pulled a prank on him. Martin says that Incognito’s actions were malicious.

Incognito, a strong team leader, says his actions were out of love. Incognito says in a recent ESPN interview that he considers himself to be one of Martin’s best friends, and he treats him as a brother.

The interview reveals a voicemail that Incognito recently left for Martin: "Hey wasp, you half nigger piece of (expletive). Going to slap your real mother across the face. You're still a rookie. I'll kill you." Incognito says that the voicemail was a joke, and that it was intended to be a private message. Incognito acknowledges his mistakes, but he says that offensive linemen behavior is vulgar and immoral.

ESPN's Jay Glazer asks Richie Incognito about his hazing accusations. Glazer says Incognito is now the face of bullying. (Source ESPN)

‘Players use offensive language’

Incognito says that people don’t know how him and Martin communicate. He received a text message from Martin weeks ago that said, “I will murder your whole fucking family.” Incognito says that he has been Martin’s biggest support on the team during his Dolphins career.

‘Incognito was told to toughen Martin’

Omar Kelly, a writer for the Sun Sentinel says that Incognito began to look after Martin when he joined the Dolphins in 2012. Coaches asked Incognito to toughen up Martin after he skipped two Organized Team Activities.

Martin recently told Incognito that he blames the locker room environment for the incidents. The Miami Dolphins are known to conduct rites of passage for rookie players, which can include embarrassing haircuts and spending lots of money; Martin paid $15,000 for a trip to Las Vegas that he didn’t attend. Incognito says that the football locker room is filled with colorful language, and he says, “there is nothing malicious done when hazing.”

Jonathan Martin was the Miami Dolphin's second round pick in 2012.  Richie Incognito says he mentored Martin. (Photo Courtesy of the NFL)

‘Martin never spoke out’

Incognito says that Martin never approached him about feeling uncomfortable. Dolphins Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe says that Martin should have spoken to the team’s leadership council. But Incognito is on the council, and the Sun Sentinel says that Incognito’s power may have intimidated Martin from speaking up.

‘Head coach suspends Incognito’

The NFL Player’s Association says, “We expect that the NFL and its clubs create a safe and professional workplace for all players and that owners, executives, coaches and players should set the best standards and examples.”

Lisa Salters, an ESPN sportswriter, says Martin will sit out for the rest of the season, and he will most likely return to a different NFL team. Miami Head Coach Joe Philbin suspended Incognito until further notice.


Post Comments: Do you think Incognito's actions were malicious or just part of the locker room?