newsela | sources: incognito bullied his teammate martin

Sources: Incognito bulliedhis teammate Martin bysending racist textsBy Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staffNov. 6, 2013 midnight

Tackle Jonathan Martin (right) in his stance before the ball issnapped during a Miami Dolphins practice at the Dolphins trainingfacility at NSU in Davie, Florida, on July 23, 2013. Richie Incognito isbehind him on the left. Photo: Joe Rimkus Jr./Miami Herald/MCT

DAVIE, Fla. — In the stadium program sold at the Miami Dolphinsgame on Halloween, Richie Incognito was asked who's the easiestteammate to scare. His answer: Jonathan Martin.

The troubled relationship between the two offensive linemen took adisturbing turn Monday with fresh revelations that Incognito sentthreatening and racist text messages to his teammate, said two

Newsela | Sources: Incognito bullied his teammate Martin by se... http://newsela.com/articles/football-bullying/id/1709/

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people who knew of the situation.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on the condition that theywould not be identified. They asked for that condition because theDolphins and NFL haven't disclosed the nature of the misconductthat led to Sunday's suspension of Incognito, a veteran with areputation for dirty play.

Martin, a tackle, remained absent from practice Monday one weekafter he suddenly left the team because of emotional problems. Alsomissing was Incognito, a guard suspended indefinitely late Sundayby coach Joe Philbin for his treatment of Martin.

Both Had Played Side By Side

Agents for the two players didn't respond to requests for comment.Martin is with his family in Los Angeles for counseling. He stormedout of the team's training complex on Oct. 28 after being the victimof a prank during a team meal, media reports said.

The 319-pound Incognito, a ninth-year pro, is white. The 312-poundMartin, who is in his second NFL season, is black. For much of theseason, they've played side by side.

The team and NFL continued their investigation into allegations byMartin's representatives that he was bullied, and Philbin saidDolphins owner Stephen Ross asked Commissioner Roger Goodellfor assistance. The NFL Players Association also planned to lookinto the matter.

"Every decision I've made, everything we've done in this facility hasbeen done with one thing in mind," Philbin said. "That's to help ourplayers and our organization reach their full potential. Any type ofconduct (or) behavior that detracts from that objective is notacceptable and is not tolerated."

It's unclear whether coaches or management had any inkling ofharassment between the players before Martin left the team, andPhilbin declined to answer a question about the locker-room culture.Recent rumblings of dissension have also included complaints byyoung players that they're pressured to pay more than their sharewhen team members socialize together.

After beating Cincinnati in overtime Thursday, the Dolphins had


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three days off while the Martin story mushroomed. They returned topractice Monday and afterward found nearly 100 reporters andcameramen in their locker room.

Hazing Of Young Players Common ...

Teammates praised both Incognito and Martin and expressed regretregarding their absences, but said it was time to get on with business.

"The only thing affecting us is we can't even get dressed," saidreceiver Mike Wallace as he surveyed the media throng.

Wallace said he found Incognito to be intense but a good teammate.Newcomer Bryant McKinnie agreed.

"When I got here, he was a guy who had everybody laughing andtold jokes," said McKinnie, a tackle who joined the team two weeksago. "I didn't really see the side being portrayed right now."

Hazing of young players has a long history in sports, but Incognito'streatment of Martin raised questions about whether coaches orteammates should have intervened.

"It's not a thin line. It's pretty obvious stuff that shouldn't becrossed," Tennessee Titans cornerback Jason McCourty said. "Youwould hope if stuff was getting out of hands, there were guys in thelocker room who would step up and maybe nip it in the bud before itgot out of control."

Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said he was gladthe Dolphins took action against Incognito.

... But This Went Beyond Hazing

"Especially when you try to bully a guy. That's so classless," Dockettsaid. "His whole makeup is to play dirty and hurt guys. Everybodyknows that. I just don't understand how he got away with it for solong. I think the NFL really needs to buckle down on it now, becauseit's bigger than trying to hurt other guys. You're trying to hurt guyson your team mentally, which sometimes can actually be worse thanhurting someone physically."

Before being suspended, Incognito posted several tweets saying he


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© 2013 NEWSELA

wanted his name cleared.

Incognito, who's in the final year of a $13 million, three-yearcontract, has long had a reputation of being among the NFL's dirtiestplayers.

"There's certain people out there who are just punks, and he wants tobe that kind of guy," former Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lionsdefensive end Lawrence Jackson said Monday. "But because he's alineman, he gets away with a lot of stuff that people don't see.Incognito is way worse than anybody I ever played against."

However, there have been fewer such complaints since Incognitojoined the Dolphins in 2010.

Last year he was voted by the league's players into the Pro Bowl forthe first time. He was the co-winner of the Dolphins' Good GuyAward, given to the team's most cooperative player by the localmedia. He also won frequent praise from Dolphins coaches for hisleadership, and this year he was voted by teammates to serve as amember of the Dolphins' player council.

Martin protected quarterback Andrew Luck's blind side at Stanfordbefore joining Miami as a second-round draft pick in 2012. He hasbeen a starter since the beginning of his rookie season, but hasstruggled while dividing his time between left and right tackle.

For the first six games this year, Incognito and Martin were the twoplayers protecting quarterback Ryan Tannehill's blind side. Theirtroubled relationship may help explain his NFL-high 35 sacks.


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newsela | sources: incognito bullied his teammate martin

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