Dolphin Players bullied Jonathan Martin, Richie Incognito SUSPENDED (2 Viewers)

[fatness]

When I read those statements I go back to the Breer tweet from the previous page, when he said:@AlbertBreer: I've gone thru pretty much all the facts in the Wells report, and it's really hard -- if you've been around the NFL -- to be stunned by it.

Who am I to argue with that?

Current NFL players don't say their locker rooms are like this, or would allow this.

Former players, media guys -- some of they say so. I don't think they know today's locker rooms like current players do.

 

[fatness]

Teddy Bruschi was asked point blank on the air if he was a GM would he give Martin a shot. He was quick to say yes, that (something to the effect of) there are various ways to get the best out of a player and that bullying wouldn't do it.

That echoes what Chris Cooley has said repeatedly on the air on ESPN980 --- that the level of intimidation and bullying in the Dolphins locker room was way beyond anything he'd ever heard of, and that it was really easy to figure out what made individual players tick and how to get the best out of them.

 

[fatness]

What the investigation and report did make clear is that this was not a situation involving only Incognito and Martin. It involved at least 3 players doing the intimidating --- Incognito, Pouncey, and Jerry. And it involved at least 3 targets --- Martin, another O-Lineman, and an assistant trainer.

The fact that an assistant trainer was bullied, and the fact that Incognito blew off Philbin's instruction --- I don't see those things being overlooked or forgotten by other teams. His job choices in the NFL just got fewer and cheaper.

 

[Bob Magaw]

The more I read this report the more disgusted I become with these guys we have on our team. Just pure trash.

Now.......let's be real for a moment. Most other players would have nipped that in the butt. No doubt in my mind they would have laid out Incognito, Jerry and Pouncy...whether that would be in a practice scrum, in the locker room...whatever.

The fact that Martin laughed along, and just took it......he was easy to be a whipping boy. It's just like freaking school. When a bully looks for fresh meat he will keep pounding on the kid that won't fight back.

The thing that was hard to digest is....here is a guy who has played football his entire life and was able to get through a lot of teasing and bullying. I mean the guy talks about being bullied his entire life. He will not survive in the NFL where if you don't take a stand for yourself your going to have to live with the fact that at least 50% of the league (just guessing on my part) is full of animals like Incognito, Jerry and Pouncy who are pure garbage. No brain boneheaded ghetto trash.

Now I know a lot of this goes on in the league......but the degree and level of the mental abuse I read (SMH).....if someone talked to me about my mother and sister like that.....whether I can hurt them or not....I am going to at least try to hurt them back and tell them to back the ***k off.

If Martin had that inner strength to do this and draw a line I don't think we ever hear about this. But he didn't. He bascially wanted to fit in and went along...for better or for worse. He could not take a stand and the only way he could was to finally crack and do what he did.

I wish him luck.....I really do. Because even if he catches on with a new team....or even sticks with Miami....he really is not a good NFL tackle. But that is not the point.

Steven Ross has a huge....I mean huge mess to clean up here. Incredible what has happened to this franchise the moment Shula left. Just incredible.

Well said Todem and I think Ross needs to be called on the carpet, maybe a change of ownership by force from the league. This guy is clueless and Philbin should be let go either for knowing and not doing anything or NOT KNOWING which shows complete incompetence. I will not be purchasing any tickets for any games this season which is a shame as I wanted to become a season ticket holder again and cut down on the FF stuff and having to watch every game, just focus more on the Phins but that's a pipe dream now. Ross is such an idiot backing Philbin publicly, should have 86'd everyone. I expect Pouncey to receive a major suspension and I also think Philbin should receive the Sean Peyton type suspension. Minimum 8 games, perhaps the whole season and force Ross to make a decision on what to do. Fan support was already weak, this just runs it into the ground.

Where do they go from here department?

1) MIA has to distance themselves by denouncing in as strong as possible terms Incognito and his actions.

2) Allow Martin back as he has been exonerated? But Martin already said I think another team would be best, so almost certain mutual parting.

3) Philbin - no change. If he knew, he should be fired for complicity. If he didn't, he should be fired for incompetence. More half measures from Ross by firing Ireland but not the HC.

4) OL coach Turner - Must have been more in the loop and therefore even more implicated than Philbin. How do you forget giving a blow up doll as a present. Has he done that thousands of times and the recollections blur together? NO received multiple front office and coaching suspensions, not just for the Bountygate actions themselves that prompted the investigation, but a pattern of deceit in obstructing the investigation.

5) Pouncey (Jerry was already a free agent - will he receive less interest around the league now?), they are in a pickle as he is a core player. Do the team suspend him? Does the league suspend him if MIA doesn't.

6) Do we get a "status report" on the ex-player and exec leadership council to draft a new team charter (reports that not only they never met, but we're never scheduled to meet - classic lip service move purely motivated by PR reasons, Ross might the biggest joke of all).

7) Will Incognito receive a suspension or work again? Ironic that he was hatin on Martin recently, now wants people to stop the hatin. In defiantly insisting he would be exonerated, he revealed the same delusions in not accepting responsibility that made him think that his actions and behavior were acceptable in the first place.

Hey Bob, as always I enjoy posting back and forth with you.

I'll answer in order of the numbers as you did.

1-They did suspend him for the season and released him from the team. Actions speak louder than words.

2-I got news for all the folks who feel somehow fulfilled from the Wells report…Martin will not see the inside of another NFL locker room. He already is marginal and then you add in some very damaging mental stuff form the report as suggested by Wells and then denounced by Martin's camp, he ain't coming back to Miami or any team as I read it.

3-Agree 100%, Philbin should be fired immediately with Jim Turner.

4-Turner should get the Greg Williams treatment here. He shouldn't be allowed to coach again. He brought blow up doll to hand to Martin or be in on the jokes, sounds like martin could not go to him for any support.

5-Pouncey should get a big suspension and Miami will now have ALL 5 positions on the OL vacated…they will have to draft 3-4 OL and bring in 2-3 UFA, all will likely make the team.

6-Ross is the worst owner in the league. If not, bottom 3.

7-Richie will find work if he is not suspended further. He can actually play, same for Pouncey should he be released by the team.

Likewise, MOP.

1 - Not sure about this. Earlier there was a date that MIA had to reinstate him or cut him. They mutually agreed to extend it, possibly pending the release of the report? While they did suspend him, it was with pay, making it less clear cut the degree of guilt MIA was assigning to Incognito.

2 - Possibly. I'm aware of the poor grades. Some would contend being harrassed and miserable could have impacted his play. Many were convinced he would be found at fault, yet the report has exonerated him, undermining some of the assumptions of the previous narrrative.

3 - Doubt if Ross fires Philbin, did the report comment on him at all? He may not even be suspended. Turner, I'm not as sure about, up to and including suspension and termination. You could make a strong case both SHOULD be fired.

4 - As already noted above, Williams is the STL DC. He was an assistant or consultant to TEN DC Jerry Gray last year. I think the blow up doll was for Nate Garner.

5 - After refamiliarizing myself with some of the suspension-related details of Bountygate to refresh my memory, the biggest player suspension (and I wouldn't think Pouncey or Jerry would get as big a one as Incognito, as the primary instigator and focal point of the harrassment wrongdoing) was Jonathan Vilma. He was originally suspended for the entire 2012 season (dwarfing the previous high of Haynesworth's five games for stomping on Gurode's head), which was overturned and he was reinstated. Strangely, Goodell resuspended him for the season, and Tagliabue rereinstated him. He missed five games due to injury. If Pouncey gets supended, it might only be for a game, or something like that. Fine probably more likely. Ireland has already been fired. More ominously for Turner, it was the coaches that served the longest suspensions. DC Williams was suspended "indefinitely" for conduct detrimental to the league, but reinstated less than a year later.

6 - Not sure who would emerge "victorious" between Ross, Snyder and Haslam in a worst owner caged match.

7 - We'll see about Incognito. Again, there were a lot of assumptions that Incognito was the victim, but the narrative has changed. His options were already going to be limited (who wants the headache on golf outings?) BEFORE the recent spate of berzerk tweet ragings that will signal NFL front offices that he has pulled his personal thing together about as well as Manson carving a swastika into his forehead before appearing in front of the parole board. IMO, respectfully, no way Pouncey is cut (see above on Vilma).

 

[Bigboy10182000]

When I read those statements I go back to the Breer tweet from the previous page, when he said:

@AlbertBreer: I've gone thru pretty much all the facts in the Wells report, and it's really hard -- if you've been around the NFL -- to be stunned by it.

Who am I to argue with that?

Current NFL players don't say their locker rooms are like this, or would allow this.

Former players, media guys -- some of they say so. I don't think they know today's locker rooms like current players do.

And those same players didn't say anything in Miami for 2 years. You had players come and go. Hell, you even had Hard Knocks there and no one said a word. The fact that current players don't come out and say their locker room is like this surely isn't shocking to you.

 

[Bob Magaw]

Of all the genius moves from the MIA hierarchy, from the top down (Ross, Aponte, Ireland, Philbin), allowing Incognito to be on the leadership council was the most doomed from the beginning.

Incognito and leadership council, didn't before, doesn't now and never will belong in the same sentence.

Saying it once or twice is just WRONG, it would be more laughable if it wasn't so tragic that ANYBODY in a position of power there at any time thought this was a good idea, and should call their larger league/team-related judgement permanently into question. This was almost on the level of stupefyingly boneheaded move as allowing the Hell's Angels to be bouncers at Altamont and paying them with all the beer they could drink.

* Incognito can now work on his other writing/video projects...

1) Memoirs entitled Coming From A Place Of Love - I Want To Rape Your Family, N#####!

2) Leadership Secrets From Inside The Miami Dolphins Locker Room

3) Golfing The Richie Incognito Way

 

[proninja]

Martin was a victim.

Case closed. My speculation was wrong in regards to the severity of the taunts and bullying. And I based it on my own experience in high school and college baseball.

This was some brutal treatment.......you should not have to be subjected to this on a daily basis. A metally weak person would crumble. And a person who is head strong and confident......would not deal with this either. It came down to situation of how are you going to handle this? I always felt martin should have dealt with it internally first....I mean really pursue that and keep it in house.

He did not.

Because of that....a lot of players would never trust him. And trust is the cornerstone to being a teammate. Even though it was wrong, and now after reading a lot of this report.....I am disgusted with my favorite NFL team to allow this to go on for so long.....Martin's career is on thin ice as well.

In any case.....no question now. Martin was a victim here and Incognito the ring leader.

Let's move on now......let's start talking about footbal again everyone.

Glad to hear you admit you were wrong. Lots of people would keep on slamming Martin.

I think you're still wrong with the "players won't trust him because he didn't keep it in house" thing too though. Seems like the only reason to worry about that is if you're the type of locker room that has that crap going on in it. If you run a locker room where players are treated like humans, there's really nothing to worry about.

I'm interested if he's actually any good or not, because I think Seattle would be the perfect landing spot for him. He's got a couple Stanford teammates here, Baldwin has been vocally supportive of him, and if Sherm's got your back, nothing bad is going to happen to you. It's a progressive town, and Carroll is as supportive of players and taking care of them how they need to be as any coach in the league. I can't say for sure this kind of stuff doesn't go on here, but it would shock me. But if he's not good enough as a player, it's a moot point.

Lots of rainbows and butterflies in your version of the NFL. Jeez man c'mon.This is a brutal, violent sport played by nut jobs. It is no place for a guy like Martin.

Sorry, Richie. Didn't mean to offend you.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

I kind of think the FF and real football implications of this dramady - which started with a meat loaf being thrown in the Dolphins cafeteria - has completed it's cycle.

Maybe it says a lot about the dysfunctionalism of the Dolphins' management, but in reality the Phins missed the playoffs by one game and really had a superb year. Everyone kept predicting them to die in the midst of this and implode as a team but they really didn't. Like the Trent Richardson saga, the book has closed on this from a football level.

This is really personal interest story now.

IMO, shut`er down and merge with the Incognito/Martin thread in the FFA.

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=703674

:IBTL:

 

[RBM]

Teddy Bruschi was asked point blank on the air if he was a GM would he give Martin a shot. He was quick to say yes, that (something to the effect of) there are various ways to get the best out of a player and that bullying wouldn't do .

Bull####. Bruschi has nothing on the line. Let's see him get a job as a GM and then sign this big sissy to protect his franchise qb. See how quick he is then.

 

[RBM]

Martin was a victim.

Case closed. My speculation was wrong in regards to the severity of the taunts and bullying. And I based it on my own experience in high school and college baseball.

This was some brutal treatment.......you should not have to be subjected to this on a daily basis. A metally weak person would crumble. And a person who is head strong and confident......would not deal with this either. It came down to situation of how are you going to handle this? I always felt martin should have dealt with it internally first....I mean really pursue that and keep it in house.

He did not.

Because of that....a lot of players would never trust him. And trust is the cornerstone to being a teammate. Even though it was wrong, and now after reading a lot of this report.....I am disgusted with my favorite NFL team to allow this to go on for so long.....Martin's career is on thin ice as well.

In any case.....no question now. Martin was a victim here and Incognito the ring leader.

Let's move on now......let's start talking about footbal again everyone.

Glad to hear you admit you were wrong. Lots of people would keep on slamming Martin.

I think you're still wrong with the "players won't trust him because he didn't keep it in house" thing too though. Seems like the only reason to worry about that is if you're the type of locker room that has that crap going on in it. If you run a locker room where players are treated like humans, there's really nothing to worry about.

I'm interested if he's actually any good or not, because I think Seattle would be the perfect landing spot for him. He's got a couple Stanford teammates here, Baldwin has been vocally supportive of him, and if Sherm's got your back, nothing bad is going to happen to you. It's a progressive town, and Carroll is as supportive of players and taking care of them how they need to be as any coach in the league. I can't say for sure this kind of stuff doesn't go on here, but it would shock me. But if he's not good enough as a player, it's a moot point.

Lots of rainbows and butterflies in your version of the NFL. Jeez man c'mon.This is a brutal, violent sport played by nut jobs. It is no place for a guy like Martin.

speaking of brutal and nut jobs, I present to you, RBM!

The NFL is about to change. Something tells me you won't like where it ends up.

New kinder, softer NFL? You can't be serious can you?

How will you handle it if Incognito gets a job before Martin? You realize a lot of bad men have played in this league right? Incognito with his big, dumb mouth had nothin on guys like Leonard Little and Ray Ray.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

You realize a lot of bad men have played in this league right? Incognito with his big, dumb mouth had nothin on guys like Leonard Little and Ray Ray.

True enough. But then no one's arguing that when Darren Sharper (allegedly) rapes seven women we should all just look the other way because he's a football player either.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Why was John Jerry screwing with anyone? That guy is one of the worst OL in the league. He needed to get his #### together before messing with others. PFF had him as the 50th out of 54 guards in 2012. What a worthless POS.

 

[ffgiant]

I am not sure what happened to America. Figure Skating and Dancing with the stars are the popular shows.

Nice and soft.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

4-Turner should get the Greg Williams treatment here. He shouldn't be allowed to coach again. ...

I'm not sure how widely known this is ... but Gregg Williams is the current DC of the St. Louis Rams. He was on the Rams' payroll all of 2013 as a "consultant", and was promoted to DC after the season.

Ur right but he was told initially he was suspended indefinitely so it looked like he might never coach again. I expect Turner to get death sentence here.

And I expect Pouncey to be given very stiff suspension.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

When I read those statements I go back to the Breer tweet from the previous page, when he said:@AlbertBreer: I've gone thru pretty much all the facts in the Wells report, and it's really hard -- if you've been around the NFL -- to be stunned by it.

Who am I to argue with that?

Current NFL players don't say their locker rooms are like this, or would allow this.

Former players, media guys -- some of they say so. I don't think they know today's locker rooms like current players do.

Teddy Bruschi was asked point blank on the air if he was a GM would he give Martin a shot. He was quick to say yes, that (something to the effect of) there are various ways to get the best out of a player and that bullying wouldn't do it.

That echoes what Chris Cooley has said repeatedly on the air on ESPN980 --- that the level of intimidation and bullying in the Dolphins locker room was way beyond anything he'd ever heard of, and that it was really easy to figure out what made individual players tick and how to get the best out of them.

Well what would Brushci and Cooley know? They aren't current players in NFL locker rooms, right? Those are your words.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Incognito's gave a swan song twitter moment if you haven't been paying attention. He's been retweeting all the people that shared their opinions of him. I guess he just couldn't take the bullying. Poor Richie

Next stop, prison. It can't come soon enough.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Looks like he deleted his twitter account. Don't come back.

 

[RBM]

4-Turner should get the Greg Williams treatment here. He shouldn't be allowed to coach again. ...

I'm not sure how widely known this is ... but Gregg Williams is the current DC of the St. Louis Rams. He was on the Rams' payroll all of 2013 as a "consultant", and was promoted to DC after the season.

Ur right but he was told initially he was suspended indefinitely so it looked like he might never coach again. I expect Turner to get death sentence here. And I expect Pouncey to be given very stiff suspension.

You can't think what Turner did was worse than what Williams did can you? Money incentives to injure guys....c'mon

 

[RBM]

You realize a lot of bad men have played in this league right? Incognito with his big, dumb mouth had nothin on guys like Leonard Little and Ray Ray.

True enough. But then no one's arguing that when Darren Sharper (allegedly) rapes seven women we should all just look the other way because he's a football player either.

Don't embarrass yourself by comparing rape to name calling/verbal abuse of a teammate.

 

[squistion]

How do the people who rushed to defend Martin feel now? Will the hosts of The View offer a public apology to Incognito? Probably not.

I think it is less probable now.

 

[Rolling_akg]

There is no good guy -- bad guy. They all deserve to lose

 

[PatsWillWin]

Player B: Yes. That’s a solid optic made specifically for a .308 battle rifleIncognito: Perfect for shooting black people

Player B: Lol exactly

Player B: Or Jeff Ireland

Okay, I LOL'd a bit.

 

[Neofight]

Why was John Jerry screwing with anyone? That guy is one of the worst OL in the league. He needed to get his #### together before messing with others. PFF had him as the 50th out of 54 guards in 2012. What a worthless POS.

His performance may very well be symptomatic of the poor leadership as anything else. It's hard to say when the lunatics are running the asylum.

 

[Limp Ditka]

wow

 

[Bob Magaw]

In a long thread that has unfolded over many months before coming to a resolution this morning, my favorite article was Cam Cleeland on the medieval, old school culture of hazing in general, and Incognito as a teammate specifically (business excerpt below). Under the circumstances, and maybe it helped that he knew him personally, I'd say he was prescient, and could have written the report himself.

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/07/sports/la-sp-farmer-cleeland-incognito-20131108

"Seven years later, when Cleeland was playing for St. Louis, the Rams drafted Incognito, who had been kicked off his college teams at Nebraska and Oregon.

"I'm not afraid to say that he was an immature, unrealistic scumbag," Cleeland said. "When it came down to it, he had no personality, he was a locker-room cancer, and he just wanted to fight everybody all the time. It was bizarre beyond belief."

Just as he shakes his head at Ditka's suggestion he simply should have thrown punches, he scoffs at the reaction some have about the situation in Miami.

"Any NFL player that gives Martin a hard time — I don't know him — but any guy who says, 'This guy should have been a tough guy, should have stood up to him,' it's BS," he said.

"I don't care if you're a good guy or not, you don't deserve that kind of treatment in any workplace. You've got to be tough. We're all tough guys. But in the end, you're still a human being."

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

You realize a lot of bad men have played in this league right? Incognito with his big, dumb mouth had nothin on guys like Leonard Little and Ray Ray.

True enough. But then no one's arguing that when Darren Sharper (allegedly) rapes seven women we should all just look the other way because he's a football player either.

Don't embarrass yourself by comparing rape to name calling/verbal abuse of a teammate.

So NFL players should be exempted from some forms of illegal behavior, but not others. That's an interesting position to take. Carry on, Governor. Tell us more.

 

[fatness]

TJ LangVerified account ‏@TJLang70
Please don't stereotype NFL players for what's going on with Miami. That type of stuff is not common in other locker rooms.

 

[fatness]

When I read those statements I go back to the Breer tweet from the previous page, when he said:@AlbertBreer: I've gone thru pretty much all the facts in the Wells report, and it's really hard -- if you've been around the NFL -- to be stunned by it.

Who am I to argue with that?

Current NFL players don't say their locker rooms are like this, or would allow this.

Former players, media guys -- some of they say so. I don't think they know today's locker rooms like current players do.

Teddy Bruschi was asked point blank on the air if he was a GM would he give Martin a shot. He was quick to say yes, that (something to the effect of) there are various ways to get the best out of a player and that bullying wouldn't do it.

That echoes what Chris Cooley has said repeatedly on the air on ESPN980 --- that the level of intimidation and bullying in the Dolphins locker room was way beyond anything he'd ever heard of, and that it was really easy to figure out what made individual players tick and how to get the best out of them.

Well what would Brushci and Cooley know? They aren't current players in NFL locker rooms, right? Those are your words.

I responded to a guy saying NFL media guy Albert Breer basically should be believed. I noted 2 NFL media guys disagreed.

Now, if you have current NFL players saying similar stuff happens in their locker rooms the last 2 years, I'm all ears.

 

[fatness]

A good article by another current NFL media guy, Mark Schlereth.

I've heard a lot of current and former football players evoke "the code" in regard to Martin's departure from his team.

• Handle your business like a man
• Don't air the team's dirty laundry to the public
• Stand up for yourself
• Punch him in the nose
• Don't run out on your teammates

Many have said Martin has broken "the code" and will never be welcomed back in the locker room. What about "the code" that says we love one another? We play hard for one another? We set aside our differences and bond together as one? What about that fraternity, that code?

.

The code of championship locker rooms, in which men sacrifice for each other, in which they consider others more important than themselves, in which they embrace -- not ostracize -- each other. That's the locker room I grew up in and the code I adhere to, and my football career is filled with examples of reaching out, and looking out, for teammates.

In my seventh season, I found myself on a bus in Japan as a member of the Denver Broncos. It was my first season in Denver and our first road trip of the preseason. As we sat in traffic, there was the usual joking and poking fun that accompanies those moments.

In the seats behind me sat two defensive players, and they were flipping some grief to a young player, typical stuff. At some point, the good-natured, innocuous ribbing became personal and out of bounds, so I turned and said "Enough," they responded with a few choice words for me and I made it clear in no uncertain terms that they crossed a line and I wasn't putting up with it. They mumbled a few protests under their breaths, but it was over and the bus rolled slowly to its destination, again under the din of good-natured fun that accompanies grown men who play a childhood game for a living. A few minutes later, I glanced back at the young player I had stood up for -- no words were exchanged, just a tacit nod of the head, as if to say, "Thanks. I appreciate the help." I replied in kind, and it's was never brought up again.

So there is one story, among many I have, of some self-policing, some enforcing of a code that builds teams rather than tearing them apart. Those guys didn't freak out at my intervention or suggestion that they lay off. I wasn't attacking their manhood. I was reminding them of the line you don't cross. They got a little carried away, but they knew I was right. We moved on with no trouble. Nothing lingered or simmered because it was addressed on the spot. I'm no hero and it probably would have resolved itself, but I was taught to stand up for my team. I was taught "the code" -- the championship code.

But, in light of the Incognito/Martin story, people would have you believe that you have to be some raving lunatic to play in the NFL, wound so tightly that the slightest spark will insight an insatiable inferno. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

A good article by another current NFL media guy, Mark Schlereth.

But, in light of the Incognito/Martin story, people would have you believe that you have to be some raving lunatic to play in the NFL, wound so tightly that the slightest spark will insight an insatiable inferno. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Have you ever seen Scanners?

 

[mphtrilogy]

Martin will never have to work again, his lawsuit should net him millions and millions in a harassment suit against the team and the league. They will settle quietly out of court form maybe 30 mill or so...

 

[squistion]

this will end up like the Duke Lacrosse fiasco - Incognito isn't guilty of anything other than being found guilty by the media already as a poster child for bullying/racism, of which both are false

and when the truth DOES come out, nobody will really report it, and everyone will still remember Incognito as a racist bully .... tell the lies long enough and people will believe them

"everyone will still remember Incognito as a racist bully"

Well, at least you got that part right.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Good idea to take that down.

and I didn't even get a thank you? Some people have no idea how to act.

 

[General Tso]

What I want to know is - how did they get all these text messages? I doubt Incognito and Pouncey would save them, and I thought the cellular carriers only stored then for 48 hours or so.

 

[RBM]

A good article by another current NFL media guy, Mark Schlereth.

I've heard a lot of current and former football players evoke "the code" in regard to Martin's departure from his team.

• Handle your business like a man

• Don't air the team's dirty laundry to the public

• Stand up for yourself

• Punch him in the nose

• Don't run out on your teammates

Many have said Martin has broken "the code" and will never be welcomed back in the locker room. What about "the code" that says we love one another? We play hard for one another? We set aside our differences and bond together as one? What about that fraternity, that code?

.

The code of championship locker rooms, in which men sacrifice for each other, in which they consider others more important than themselves, in which they embrace -- not ostracize -- each other. That's the locker room I grew up in and the code I adhere to, and my football career is filled with examples of reaching out, and looking out, for teammates.

In my seventh season, I found myself on a bus in Japan as a member of the Denver Broncos. It was my first season in Denver and our first road trip of the preseason. As we sat in traffic, there was the usual joking and poking fun that accompanies those moments.

In the seats behind me sat two defensive players, and they were flipping some grief to a young player, typical stuff. At some point, the good-natured, innocuous ribbing became personal and out of bounds, so I turned and said "Enough," they responded with a few choice words for me and I made it clear in no uncertain terms that they crossed a line and I wasn't putting up with it. They mumbled a few protests under their breaths, but it was over and the bus rolled slowly to its destination, again under the din of good-natured fun that accompanies grown men who play a childhood game for a living. A few minutes later, I glanced back at the young player I had stood up for -- no words were exchanged, just a tacit nod of the head, as if to say, "Thanks. I appreciate the help." I replied in kind, and it's was never brought up again.

So there is one story, among many I have, of some self-policing, some enforcing of a code that builds teams rather than tearing them apart. Those guys didn't freak out at my intervention or suggestion that they lay off. I wasn't attacking their manhood. I was reminding them of the line you don't cross. They got a little carried away, but they knew I was right. We moved on with no trouble. Nothing lingered or simmered because it was addressed on the spot. I'm no hero and it probably would have resolved itself, but I was taught to stand up for my team. I was taught "the code" -- the championship code.

But, in light of the Incognito/Martin story, people would have you believe that you have to be some raving lunatic to play in the NFL, wound so tightly that the slightest spark will insight an insatiable inferno. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

So this kind of stuff did happen on his team, but he was there to shut it down. Too bad he wasn't on this Dolphin team.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

I thought Philbin seemed clueless during hard knocks and wasnt really respected. I think this proves that opinion to be true. He isn't a head coach.

 

[KellysHeroes]

4-Turner should get the Greg Williams treatment here. He shouldn't be allowed to coach again. ...

I'm not sure how widely known this is ... but Gregg Williams is the current DC of the St. Louis Rams. He was on the Rams' payroll all of 2013 as a "consultant", and was promoted to DC after the season.

due to lack of evidence I believe?

 

[KellysHeroes]

doesn't Florida have the "Stand your ground" law?

 

[KellysHeroes]

5-Pouncey should get a big suspension and Miami will now have ALL 5 positions on the OL vacated…they will have to draft 3-4 OL and bring in 2-3 UFA, all will likely make the team.

Will they get any Comp picks for losing both Martin and Richie?

 

[Neofight]

A good article by another current NFL media guy, Mark Schlereth.

I've heard a lot of current and former football players evoke "the code" in regard to Martin's departure from his team.

Handle your business like a man

Don't air the team's dirty laundry to the public

Stand up for yourself

Punch him in the nose

Don't run out on your teammates

Many have said Martin has broken "the code" and will never be welcomed back in the locker room. What about "the code" that says we love one another? We play hard for one another? We set aside our differences and bond together as one? What about that fraternity, that code?

.

The code of championship locker rooms, in which men sacrifice for each other, in which they consider others more important than themselves, in which they embrace -- not ostracize -- each other. That's the locker room I grew up in and the code I adhere to, and my football career is filled with examples of reaching out, and looking out, for teammates.

In my seventh season, I found myself on a bus in Japan as a member of the Denver Broncos. It was my first season in Denver and our first road trip of the preseason. As we sat in traffic, there was the usual joking and poking fun that accompanies those moments.

In the seats behind me sat two defensive players, and they were flipping some grief to a young player, typical stuff. At some point, the good-natured, innocuous ribbing became personal and out of bounds, so I turned and said "Enough," they responded with a few choice words for me and I made it clear in no uncertain terms that they crossed a line and I wasn't putting up with it. They mumbled a few protests under their breaths, but it was over and the bus rolled slowly to its destination, again under the din of good-natured fun that accompanies grown men who play a childhood game for a living. A few minutes later, I glanced back at the young player I had stood up for -- no words were exchanged, just a tacit nod of the head, as if to say, "Thanks. I appreciate the help." I replied in kind, and it's was never brought up again.

So there is one story, among many I have, of some self-policing, some enforcing of a code that builds teams rather than tearing them apart. Those guys didn't freak out at my intervention or suggestion that they lay off. I wasn't attacking their manhood. I was reminding them of the line you don't cross. They got a little carried away, but they knew I was right. We moved on with no trouble. Nothing lingered or simmered because it was addressed on the spot. I'm no hero and it probably would have resolved itself, but I was taught to stand up for my team. I was taught "the code" -- the championship code.

But, in light of the Incognito/Martin story, people would have you believe that you have to be some raving lunatic to play in the NFL, wound so tightly that the slightest spark will insight an insatiable inferno. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

So this kind of stuff did happen on his team, but he was there to shut it down. Too bad he wasn't on this Dolphin team.

I blame Schlereth, personally.

 

[Sabertooth]

Pounceys seems like a tool

 

[msommer]

Wells has made it very difficult for Martin to sue the Dolphins. He could go after Incognito, Pouncey and Jerry, probably Turner in a civil suit.

That would likely make sure Incognito did not ever play again as it would take a while for the case to make it through the courts.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

http://www.cbssports.com/general/writer/gregg-doyel/24444505/after-richie-incognito-gets-taste-of-his-own-medicine-can-it-be-a-cure

It's no fun being the victim -- right, Richie Incognito?

Poor guy. After the NFL announced Friday the findings of an independent report that determined Incognito had pushed Jonathan Martin to the point of leaving the Dolphins and even contemplating suicide, Incognito was under attack on Twitter. Mean people said mean things to him, picking on him when he was down, mocking him and taunting him and in effect treating him like the Wells report said he treated Jonathan Martin when they were teammates on the Dolphins.

And Incognito didn't like it.

He didn't just take it and sneer. He tried to make it stop, because while it's one thing to be on the attack, it's quite another to be the victim. And Richie Incognito was attacked Friday on Twitter after the Ted Wells report was released and determined that Incognito had harassed Martin and picked up some followers in teammates Mike Pouncey and John Jerry and even offensive line coach Jim Turner.

At first Incognito tried to make it stop by being nice to his tormenters on Twitter, reminding everyone that it was Valentine's Day and asking everyone to "Pleeeeease Stop The Hate" and even including a smiley face. No, really. I would show you that tweet, but it's gone. Incognito's entire Twitter account is gone, but I'm getting ahead of myself here. Because after trying to placate his attackers with kindness, and then by pleading with them to "stop the hate" and even, no joke, "stop the bullying," Incognito lashed out with anger. He lashed out at Ted Wells himself, cryptically reminded everyone that Jonathan Martin had considered suicide -- Incognito tweeted out the words "Bully? Or Friend" with a link to a suicide prevention hotline -- and then settled into acceptance.

"I guess I'm as dumb as I look."

Followed by:

"Goodbye twitter. Be well. See you on the other side ?"

And he was gone. His account? Apparently deleted. The stages of being a victim of the word so often used in this case, "bullying" -- fighting it with humor, kindness, anger, then acceptance before finally giving up -- were on display by no less an authority than Richie Incognito. I'm not gloating, or trying not to, because bullying is bad any time it happens, even when it happens to a person as rotten as Richie Incognito. Maybe he will, as others have before him, respond to rock bottom by becoming a better person. We've seen it from Michael Vick and Chris Culliver and Riley Cooper. Maybe we'll see it from Richie Incognito. Don't know that yet.

What we do know is this: Incognito was created, as are so many monsters. He was bullied as a kid, called "fatass" and "lardass" and "whale" according to Incognito himself. Years later Incognito had a choice to make -- become what he was taught to be, or overcome it and become something better -- and Incognito made the weak choice. He tormented others as he once was tormented, culminating in what Wells determined was vicious treatment of Jonathan Martin, who he broke into tiny pieces and noted as much in the fine book he had for the offensive line, a book where he repeatedly fined Martin for acting like a "p-ssy" and then fined himself $200 for "breaking Jmart" after Martin left the team.

Before breaking, Martin went through the stages of being a victim himself. He tried to ingratiate himself to Incognito, going along with the humor because this is what victims do, as Incognito himself demonstrated on Friday: They try to make their tormenter like them. Maybe, they think, if the bully likes me he'll leave me alone. Didn't work for Jonathan Martin last year. Didn't work for Incognito on Friday.

There's a lesson here for everyone, alleged bullies and their alleged victims and the rest of us, those who are just following this story and trying to make sense of it. The people on Twitter who think Martin is soft, even the former Dolphins general manager who counseled Martin to make it stop by punching Incognito in the mouth. There is a lesson here for you, for me, for them. There is a lesson here for Richie Incognito, located as he is at rock bottom.

Maybe we'll find out: Is he as dumb as he looks?

 

[rdrouyn]

You know what also is a labor issue? Being able to work in a non-hostile environment, free of harassment. How convenient that you forgot that. Black, White, Green, Purple it doesn't matter. You have the right to be able to do your job without any undue stress caused by your coworkers. Applies to any workplace.

 

[Rockchild]

The greatest sin you can commit on any NFL team is to let your team mates down.

And Jonathan Martin's teammates let him down.

 

[Neofight]

Strange, humorous stuff there Gordo.

 

[ChuckLiddell]

You know what also is a labor issue? Being able to work in a non-hostile environment, free of harassment. How convenient that you forgot that. Black, White, Green, Purple it doesn't matter. You have the right to be able to do your job without any undue stress caused by your coworkers. Applies to any workplace.

Ted Wells goes into exhaustive detail into all the resources available to Martin, which he didn't use, both with the franchise and with the NFL in general. He also goes into great length about the steps taken by the franchise and the NFL in general about workplace safety.

Even when asked directly, Martin said nothing to many people who could have helped him.

Did the Dolphins show a reasonable standard of care? Wells goes into great detail the steps the Dolphins made once Martin left and as they became aware.

The onus is on Jim Turner, the position coach, and since he owes his career to Mike Sherman and Joe Philbin, he will and did fall on his sword, and it ends there.

Martin just wouldn't talk, and while it might be consistent with a bullied person trying to fit in, he participated at times in tormenting other players.

I'm not saying what happened to Martin was right, but whether he has standing to sue and win is a whole different ballgame.

There is no lawsuit. Martin can try and the NFL will open up it's war chest and crush him. Martin will get every penny of his rookie contract. The NFL may give him a post career job in terms of outreach and player development for good will and PR purposes and the Dolphins will probably be willing to pay for whatever mental health/psychiatric needs Martin has for life, if need be, but that's it.

The bolded is the part that is not getting enough attention in my opinion. In everyone's wild race to rush to the side of the bullied, they failed to acknowledge that he also was a bully himself.

In addition to the stuff he participated in against Nate Garner, the things Martin said about Andrew McDonald were cruel and homophobic, and said behind his back to his teammates. At least the other D-Bags had the cajones to say things to his face and not behind his back like a jealous high school JV cheerleader.

I know...he was just trying to fit in.

A lot of guys that wore swastikas in Nazi Germany were just trying to fit in. That was not any type of acceptable excuse for the deplorable acts that they performed on fellow human beings.

 

[fatness]

So this kind of stuff did happen on his team, but he was there to shut it down. Too bad he wasn't on this Dolphin team.

No. Things on his teams were shut down well before they got to the point they reached in the Dolphins locker room the last 2 years.

 

[fatness]

In everyone's wild race to rush to the side of the bullied, they failed to acknowledge that he also was a bully himself.In addition to the stuff he participated in against Nate Garner, the things Martin said about Andrew McDonald were cruel and homophobic, and said behind his back to his teammates. At least the other D-Bags had the cajones to say things to his face and not behind his back like a jealous high school JV cheerleader.

I know...he was just trying to fit in.

A lot of guys that wore swastikas in Nazi Germany were just trying to fit in. That was not any type of acceptable excuse for the deplorable acts that they performed on fellow human beings.

Yeah, I guess that's everyone's view of this now that the complete report is out --- Martin was a bully and was like Nazis.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

A lot of guys that wore swastikas in Nazi Germany were just trying to fit in. That was not any type of acceptable excuse for the deplorable acts that they performed on fellow human beings.

Maybe you should pick out a Nazi officer to compare Martin to, for clarity's sake.