The mayhem in Miami continues with each day shedding different light on a very messy and embarrassing situation.
Rich Incognito reminds me of the kid in school where it was never really his fault. Oh, he accepts obvious blame on certain matters, only to remind all who are listening that he was not acting by himself. To hear Incognito in his questionable FOX interview on Sunday almost made you think that someone should be apologizing to him for what Jonathan Martin did in walking out and putting the finger on him.
I say questionable, because he and Jay Glazer, the interviewer, had a prior relationship and it was all about Incognito being almost in the right with the locker room culture being the culprit. Incognito decided to return fire and make the claim that he and Mike Wallace were like brothers, only I think it was more like Cain and Abel. If this guy is claiming that they were like family, then lose my number and address for the family reunion.
Oh, yes, Incognito wanted you to know that he is not a racist. Yes, Richie, and I am not an earthling.
Incognito has conned his way through life by bullying people and conning the rest in thinking he is a good guy. Funny how the so-called “good guy” was involved in another situation that he will not publicly elaborate on and the Miami Dolphins were aware of.
No charges were filed against Incognito following the incident at the team’s golf tournament, which took place in Aventura, Fla. However, the police report states that the volunteer told police that Incognito “used his golf club to touch her by rubbing it up against her vagina, then up her stomach then to her chest. He then used the club to knock a pair of sunglasses off the top of her head.”
The woman, who is black, told several media outlets she has declined to talk because she had signed a confidentiality agreement. Agreement? Did the Dolphins pay her to keep quiet?
The Miami Dolphins as an organization has some explaining to do, starting at the top in their owner Stephen Ross, who finally came out and made it seem like he was the only one innocent here. Ross expressed his outrage in what was going on and made it clear that he was concerned about Jonathan Martin. Touching, but perhaps too late, as sources close to the team have indicated that Martin has played his last game for the Dolphins.
Who is in charge here? How about General Manager Jeff Ireland? You may remember him from the Dez Bryant incident at the combine a few years ago when he asked if Bryant’s mother was a prostitute. When Martin’s agent made Ireland aware of the bullying, Ireland told the agent to have his client just punch Incognito. Good way to solve it, Jeff.
Then there is Head Coach Joe Philbin, who said he had no idea that such antics were taking place on his team. There is a red flag if I ever saw one waiving. How about offensive line Coach Jim Turner? He is in a room with these offensive linemen nearly everyday, and he did not notice something may have gone awry?
Then there were the players. Surely someone on this team knew that Incognito had gone too far, and yet no one opened their mouths – and now they make it sound like Jonathan Martin was a person they barely knew. Some have gone as far as to defend Incognito.
Oh, I’m sorry, I guess Martin did not asked to be called the N-word enough or to have his family dragged into the fray, not to mention having thousands of dollars extorted from him. Yep, I guess Martin is guilty for not being able to take a joke.
These players should be ashamed of themselves for protecting the privacy of the so-called fraternity that has gone off-course. To say that is the nature of the business is no excuse.
As for the media, there are a few who have made it to the head of the class when it comes to racism, bigotry and just plain stupidity. On the national front, I get the relationship the networks have with the NFL. Therefore we have many heading for the hills and saying the politically correct thing on the surface and yet not demanding that Incognito should be run out of the league once and for all.
A Fox analyst had the nerve to question why Martin was drafted where he was (in the second round) because there may have been some concerns. Johnson forgot to touch on Incognito’s slip to the third round because of some concerns. These concerns clarified by former Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy, who said they passed on him in the draft because of his off-field issues that had been well-documented. It will not be long now before national and local media will be ready to sweep this one under the carpet and move on to their fantasy teams and how they are faring. That is how they normally roll.
They will no longer be appalled by the language or the family disrespect, because it does not directly effect them. There will be the backroom groundswell of support for Incognito as the victim of the system. There will be every excuse known to mankind offered as to why this story will go away before justice is served.
This story is a long way from being over, as the investigation is underway. There will be leaks and finger-pointing for sure, and yet no one will come up with a solution to fix a problem that has seen the toxic toothpaste come out of the tube. A Blue Ribbon committee and big names cannot fix this before next season. To have a few heads roll would be a good start.
