Nearly 12 years after former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito dominated NFL headlines with a bullying scandal, the story has resurfaced and reopened some old wounds.
Scabs have been ripped off, exposing hard feelings that still exist, at least from Incognito, who claims that reporting on the story threatened his NFL career.
During the 2013 season, the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Martin took a leave of absence from the Dolphins allegedly due to bullying and teasing from fellow offensive linemen that went back to the previous year, when he was a rookie. Reports indicated that the behavior directed at Martin went beyond rookie hazing and crossed a line with threats and racist remarks.
The Miami Dolphins’ 2013 season was marred by a bullying scandal involving offensive linemen Richie Incognito (68) and tackle Jonathan Martin (71). Incognito was eventually suspended indefinitely for his behavior. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Incognito, then a seven-year veteran, was identified as the main culprit and the Dolphins eventually suspended him indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. He missed the remaining eight games of the season and after a report commissioned by the NFL determined Incognito and two teammates had regularly harassed Martin, he did not play the entire 2014 season.
Martin, now 35, returned to the headlines with an ESPN.com profile that caught up with him 10 years after he retired from the NFL. A Stanford alum, Martin is now pursuing an MBA at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He’s still trying to put his football days in the past while moving on to another stage of his life.
However, in the ESPN story, he said, “I never believed for a second I was being bullied,” adding that he’s been trying to “fix” the story for 10 years.
He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me. Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie! They lied to protect his money. He quit……
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