Dolphins Coaches Told Richie Incognito to Toughen Up Jonathan Martin: Report
If you’ve been following the Jonathan Martin story in the NFL, where he left The Miami Dolphins last week after being subjected to extreme incidents of bullying that went way beyond routine hazing, it’s starting to appear that this is something that was encouraged by Dolphins coaches.
It may seem strange that a 300 pound NFL lineman can be bullied, but it is absolutely possible and it did happen.
As someone who was bullied in middle school, I know exactly what Martin is going through right now, and this scenario looks awfully familiar.
Hopefully he will be back. The ringleader in most of this, Martin’s teammate Richie Incognito, is most likely going to be released from the team, and hopefully he will be suspended and heavily fined by the league at the very least. Many teams wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole when he was going to be drafted citing “character issues” that incuded anger management. I’m sure some team will give him a chance when all this blows over (probably the Oakland Raiders, who have a history of collecting misfits), but in my book, he is truly a bad guy.
Richie Incognito could have been taking coaches’ instructions too far when he allegedly harassed teammate Jonathan Martin.
In a new twist to the story Tuesday, at least two sources told the Sun Sentinel that Incognito was asked by unspecified coaches to “toughen up” Martin after Martin missed a voluntary workout last spring.
If true, the revelation would further bring into question the role of head coach Joe Philbin and his staff in Martin’s departure from the team with emotional issues after he was allegedly subjected to constant bullying from Incognito, the leader of the Dolphins’ offensive line.
“I’m just trying to weather the storm right now. This will pass,” the suspended Incognito told WSVN-TV outside a doctor’s office Tuesday.
With the NFL’s investigation pending, ESPN reported that Martin never approached Philbin to voice his concerns before leaving the team. Philbin has maintained that he was unaware of the interactions between Incognito and Martin.
And there has been some victim blaming happening:
“They talk about teams being a family,” former Ravens DT and current CBS commentator Tony Siragusa said on ESPN Radio. “When you’re in the locker room, that’s like your home… . Things are handled in there and said in there that shouldn’t be brought out to the media. I think he should have confronted Incognito … and said ‘What’s your problem?’ ”
Giants safety Antrel Rolle took even more of a blame-the-victim approach during his weekly spot on WFAN. “Richie Incognito, is he wrong? Absolutely,” Rolle said. “But I think the other guy is just as much to blame because he’s allowed it to happen.
“You know, at this level, you’re a man. You’re not a little boy. You’re not a freshman in college. So I think everything has its limits. Hopefully he’s able to bounce back and recover from all that has happened and understand it, and take awareness of, you know, that you’re a grown-ass man. You need to stand up for yourself.”
Of course you need to stand up for yourself. Duh! The problem is some people can’t.
Not won’t.
Can’t.
Even 300 pound NFL lineman.
Antrel Rolle did walk that comment back a little bit later on, but he is still a complete blockhead for saying that.
Another factor that probably lead to this culture:
Dolphins players on Monday seemed to be more supportive of Incognito than Martin. As wide receiver Mike Wallace said, “I love Richie, man. I personally think he’s a great guy.”
It may also explain why something like this happened.
“Essentially, what they’re saying is what happens in the locker room should stay in the locker room,” notes Greg Dale, professor of sports psychology and sports ethics at Duke University. “What they’ve never stopped to think about is that hazing leads to this power situation. When you have a guy like Incognito, who has a history of hazing and is a classic bully, once he knows he has power over somebody, he’s going to take advantage of that. Then you put this guy on the team’s Leadership Council. That to me is unbelievable. That establishes the hierarchy.”
Read more: nydailynews.com
Related:
NFL bullying: Why ex-Stanford star Jonathan Martin became a target
Jonathan Martin went to hospital
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