November 27, 2013
Miami Dolphins Scandal The situation between Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito is one of the most controversial topics in sports media today. This topic is relevant to world-wide issues such as racism, bullying and the corruption of social media. Martin and Richie are NFL players for the Miami Dolphins. Richie is being accused of being a racist and a bully towards his teammate and the media is portraying the allegations to be true. Jonathan Martin is an NFL offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins. Martin has been a part of the Miami Dolphins organization since 2012. He was drafted by the Dolphins with the 42nd pick in the second round. Before becoming an NFL player Martin attended Stanford University and played college football. Richie Incognito is an offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins. Incognito has been a part of the Miami Dolphins organization since 2010. Before being a player on the Dolphins he has played for two other NFL teams. He was drafted by the St Louis Rams in 2005. His term with the Rams ended in 2009, shortly after he was in a Buffalo Bills uniform until he signed with the Dolphins in 2010.
Richie Incognito has a history of being a “bad guy”. Incognito played college football for the University of Nebraska and in 2003 he was suspended by his college Coach Frank Solch. In June of 2004, he was convicted of a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from incident at a party. September of 2004, Richie was suspended indefinitely by Nebraska’s coach Bill Callahaan for repeated violating of team rules. In Oct 2004, he was dismissed from Oregon’s football program after transferring to school in September. In 2009, Incognito was voted dirtiest player by his NFL peers and in Dec 2009 he was released by Rams after two personal foul penalties and for arguing with Coach Steve Spagnuolo. Dec 2011, Raiders DT Richard Seymour was fined $30k for punching Incognito during a game and in August of 2013, Texans DE Antonio Smith was suspended for week 1 for swinging a helmet at Incognito during a game. It is safe to say that Incognito has a bad reputation. He has ad mitted to making the mistakes that he has in the past and he also claimed to have gotten help from doctors to try to better himself as a person. On the other hand, Jonathan Martin record is not as bumpy as Incognito’s. Martin was a student at Stanford University and there is not any proven evidence where it shows him being a problem to his teammates or coaches, and he has no record of being involved in any crimes.
October, 28, 2013, it was reported on ESPN.com that Jonathan Martin left the Miami Dolphins organization after being in an incident with the team that occurred in the Dolphins lunch room. The details about the incident were explained by Richie Incognito in an interview he had with Jay Glazer. Incognito explains the incident as a prank that was played on Martin by himself and other linemen of the Miami Dolphins team. Richie states that this prank was done multiple times before this specific incident; he went on to say “ And I told the guys, listen, when J-Mart sits down, we’re all going to grab our trays, we’re going to go put them away and we’re going to leave him there sitting by himself. Like I’ve said, we’ve done this many times before. So Jon comes, he sits down, we all get up we grab our trays, we’re taking off, we’re all laughing and carrying on and Jon grabs his plate of food, chucks it on the floor, runs in the locker room, grabs his keys and he’s gone”. This was not the only harsh incident initiated by Incognito.
In August of 2013, Richie left a voicemail on Jonathan Martins phone. Within the voicemail there were racial slurs and threatening words directed toward Martin from Incognito. Richie was asked to speak on the voicemail in his interview with Jay Glazer. He responded “When I see that voicemail, when I see those words come up across the screen, I’m embarrassed by it.