Thursday, November 7, 2013

"Dolphins players defend Incognito"

"To the accompaniment of circus-like music, turmoil surrounding the Miami Dolphins escalated Wednesday as players rose to the locker room defense of teammate Richie Incognito and questioned the motives of his alleged harassment victim, fellow offensive lineman Jonathan Martin."
Martin, a second-year offensive tackle from Stanford, left the team last week amid allegations of bullying and racist and threatening emails from Incognito, a ninth-year offensive guard.
The Dolphins organization, after initially putting out a statement that nothing of the sort had gone on, ended up suspending Incognito, one of Miami's most popular teammates.
"If you asked Jonathan Martin who his best friend is on this team two weeks ago, he'd say Richie Incognito," quarterback Ryan Tannehill told news reporters Wednesday. "It's tough for us to sit here and hear all that when we have each others' backs."
Martin has yet to talk publicly about the bullying he said he experienced, but his alma mater has come to his defense. "We're proud of Jonathan," is the tweet sent out today by Stanford football.
"He was a quiet guy. Never said much," Tannehill said of Martin, one of his protectors on the offensive line. "He was the same guy every day. ... Tough to see warning signs."
Many of the Dolphins players just find it difficult to believe the harassment was so intense that Martin felt he needed to leave. 
"We joke with each other. You can't have thin skin around here," defensive tackle Randy Starks told news reporters. "We're trying to clear Richie's name. He's getting a bad rap."
Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY Sports

37 comments:

AllenS said...

"Dolphins players defend Cognito"

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Jonathan Martin takes sides in this controversy needlessly and defends Incognito by tacitly admitting that what he did was so bad it made some guy quit who admired the hell out of him.

Martin might not be all that smart.

Michael Haz said...

I don't buy it. The recordings of the voice mails Incognito left for Martin are threats of violence to Martin and his family.

The vid of Incognito out of control in a bar bear out Martin's allegations, as do the racist, threatening tweets.

The players are defending him because there is no replacement as strong as the juiced up freak.

The Dude said...

Juiced up freak football player, but I repeat myself.

Those brain damaged disposable idiots need to recognize that they are part of an entertainment complex, shut up, and put on a show. No one wants to hear what they have to say.

rhhardin said...

Incognito ergo sum.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I see AllenS is on top of it.

Birches said...

They're defending him because his behavior is par for the course for many of the thuggy players.

All the n word talk and threats are just "joking around." Not to be taken too seriously.

Don't you guys know any teenagers or 20 year olds?

The money is a different issue, but the media isn't playing that up. They're fanning the flames of racism with words that still occur in EVERY NFL locker room.

Aridog said...

OMG! Pro football's equivalent to WWE's Hulk Hogan's revenge act at Roddy Piper for beating up Cyndi Lauper. Details at 11:00 ... The "Mainia" event tomorrow!! Doncha dare miss it!!

Icepick said...

It's pure pack mentality. You're part of the pack, or you're prey. Incognito is one of the pack leaders, Martin isn't even part of the pack. Therefore he's prey. It's the dark side of the human male group dynamic.

edutcher said...

That last line seems to say it all.

Trooper York said...

I hear they hung a noose in his locker.

The dirty racists.

ndspinelli said...

Another racist post. PC camp for all youse racists.

Birches said...

Here's another take, and takes the $15K "extortion" out the window.

MMQB

Birches said...

Let's try that again

MMQB

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

The NFL has taken a hard stance on racist comments for decades.

As far as shaking down a rookie for money--you might want to peruse the average NFL contract. Even for so called free agents, most NFL contracts are performance driven and not huge paydays like MLB contracts. Players have far less leverage in the NFL and the salary cap keeps the cost down.

Of course the league may want to make an example out of Incognito over the monetary shakedown too, if only to distract everyone from the owners.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

It's pure pack mentality. You're part of the pack, or you're prey. Incognito is one of the pack leaders, Martin isn't even part of the pack. Therefore he's prey. It's the dark side of the human male group dynamic.

Lord of the Flies!

Trooper York said...

I hear they smeared feces on his head and put him in a garbage bag and left him by the side of the road in upstate New York.

Trooper York said...

They felt it was best if he went through life shit faced and in the bag.

Icepick said...

Birches, that MMQB article was written by someone who didn't make it through Martin's first training camp. That guy hardly knows what was happening in the 15 months since he left the Dolphins.

Lord of the Flies!

Pretty much. As stuff has come out, it is pretty clear that this started with the GM and worked its way down the organization.

And IIRC, this is also the kind of crap that coaches like Walsh didn't put up with. It's not necessary to be perpetually twelve to play football. And given the relative success of Walsh's 49ers and the current regime with the Dolphins....

Trooper York said...

That's very true. I am sure if you were mean to Joe Montana or Jerry Rice they would take their ball and wee wee wee all the way home.

No doubt about it.

Trooper York said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paddy O said...

I heard they made him get his health insurance from healthcare.gov

XRay said...

Thug shit, on the field, off the field. The reason I quit watching.

Methadras said...

I'm sensing that Jonathan Martin is a giant coddled pussy who can't take it in the NFL.

Icepick said...

According to the stats I'm looking at, Martin has started 23 games in his NFL career. How many of you internet tough guys would have the guts to do that? Or to do the practices, or the camps, or the OTAs?

How many of you could have taken the beating Martin took at Stanford, which has in recent years played a pretty physical brand of football?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of you tough guys would be crying after the second time some DE clobbered your ass in practice - assuming you were still conscious. And I'm willing to bet none of you would particularly like going to work some place where everyone from the CEO to the janitor told you you were a useless piece of trash every day, and oh BTW, I'm going to shit on your head and fuck your mom. Yeah, I'm sure you'd all make a point of punching every single person you worked with in that situation to show how tough you are.

Trooper York said...

Hey good comparison. I mean we are all NFL players who make millions of dollars for being tough guys.

It's the chicken hawk argument once again.

If you didn't play football you shouldn't have an opinion.

Trooper York said...

I mean just because I am not a horse I can't say that pony is really a dog.

Because....because.....I don't know why.

Oh I know....Obama.

Trooper York said...

You the black guys on the Dolphins thought Incognito is more black than Martin.

Wonder what that means?

Icepick said...

Hey good comparison. I mean we are all NFL players who make millions of dollars for being tough guys.

Martin's salary is about $650,000.

And it is becoming clear that this was something pushed by the GM. Again, you willing to work for an organization where the head of the business tells everyone else to take a shit on you at every opportunity?

If you didn't play football you shouldn't have an opinion.

If you don't do something that demands a lot of physical courage, day after day after day, for months and years on end, with the mental energy THAT demands, then you shouldn't be calling him a coward. Especially for not doing what you wish he had done, which would be to go punch the general manager in the face, the head coach, the OC, the line coach, and all the other linemen. As it is clear by now that the GM ordered this be done, because he is basically a brain dead idiot such as yourself, and considers this kind of abuse good sport.

Bottom line: Martin was good enough to start for them since he got there, but the GM order the entire organization to shit on him.

Trooper York said...

Maybe so. Maybe no. But I think there is more here than meets the eye.

Why would the GM do that to a supposedly important part of the team? Because he didn't like him?
Did he tell Incognito to do this?
Or is this just more excuse making?

I get it. The Man was keeping him down. The thousands upon thousands of other players that this shit happens to all the time are the real cowards. I get it.

Wonderful.

I guess this is not your fathers NFL.

Trooper York said...

I was just reporting what MSN is featuring as a major story of the reaction of the players on the team. I thought it was a very interesting article.

But hey no problem.

I guess it doesn't matter what the other players thought about it even though they are the ones who meet all your criteria for having an opinion.

Paddy O said...

"it is becoming clear that this was something pushed by the GM."

We can't handle the truth.

Trooper York said...

I think a proud black man like Crack stands up for himself. He doesn't have to get in a fight. But nobody has to pay a tab that doesn't want to do so. He didn't hold a gun to his head.

I just think it is very telling what the people close to the situation think about it.

They know more about it than you or I and very few if any are backing Martin.

Trooper York said...

That other race obsessed loon the Crack Emcee seems to agree with me.

Funny how that works out. Eh?

Aridog said...

Trooper York said...

... the black guys on the Dolphins thought Incognito is more black than Martin ... Wonder what that means?

It means the whole thing is bullshit that's what. Just like W. J. Clinton being the first black President. Pure hype.

Sounds like Vince McMahon is running the NFL to me. Good for him, good for the roid-juicers, good for business, lotsa money...but sport? Not so much.

Trooper York said...

I agree that the whole thing is bullshit. That's the point Aridog.

Aridog said...

Troop ... I'm gonna drop it at this point. I have no use for NFL football, or NCAA either. I gave my reason earlier. In short, I have no standing to comment, but I just think that all this locker-room machismo is fraudulent. A few of us have faced things tougher than football. YMMV