Current Events/Sports
Miami guard Richie Incognito, who is white, has been suspended from football for racist and threatening comments directed toward Miami tackle Jonathan Martin, a rookie who happens to be biracial. Now, Incognito has taken to the airwaves to explain his actions, in an attempt to salvage a football career that could be in jeopardy.
The controversy exploded when Martin stormed out of the Dolphin’s locker room recently and quit the team, saying he could no longer withstand the consistent bullying from the team and particularly, Richie Incognito.
A voicemail from Incognito to Martin was recently made public and exposed the depth of the situation:
“Hey, wassup, you half (racial slur) piece of (expletive). I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. I’ll (expletive) in your (expletive) mouth. I’m gonna slap your (expletive) mouth, I’m gonna slap your real mother across the face (laughter). (Expletive) you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.”
Current Events/Sports
The now suspended Incognito has tried to downplay his words and behavior, calling it overblown in an attempt to save his and the Dolphin’s reputation.
“This isn’t an issue about bullying,” Incognito told Fox Sports. “This is an issue of my and Jon’s relationship. You can ask anyone in the Miami Dolphins’ locker room who had Jon Martin’s back the absolute most, and they’ll undoubtedly tell you me.
“All this stuff coming out, it speaks to the culture of our locker room, it speaks to culture of our closeness, it speaks to the culture of our brotherhood,” Incognito continued. “And the racism, the bad words, that’s what I regret most, but that’s a product of the environment and that’s what we use all the time.”
Incognito’s racist hazing of rookies is only the tip of the iceberg. A recent video of Incognito in a bar shows him freely using the “N” word without shame. Also, new charges allege he has extorted tens of thousands of dollars in “protection money” from rookies over the years. What’s worse is that these burly players were actually scared into cowering to Incognito and others, paying up and doing whatever they were told for their own safety.
Current Events/Sports
The news regarding Incognito vs. Martin became public and caused an outcry, but it is nothing new. This environment of bullying and hazing has been out of control in the NFL for years. The real problem is not necessarily Richie Incognito, but the coaches and superiors in the sport who have allowed hazing activities to fester and grow out of control. In the case of Jonathan Martin, ESPN’s Skip Bayless said the coaching staff allowed it as their way of “toughing him up.” Hmmm…
Make no bones about it, the culture of an NFL locker room has now been exposed and the NFL as a whole is now on notice.
Richie Incognito.
I've been following this story a few days and the NFL is out of control. I saw black players get on TV and say its normal for white players to use the N word in the locker room for motivation. That I don't agree with. And you're right DJ their coaches allow it and even encourage it. The commissioner has to get involved and put a stop to this because the problem is bigger than Rich Ingognito.