The Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito situation basically boils down to one thing, common human decency. Something Incognito and several of Martin’s teammates sorely lacked. This latest report is disgusting. Just really, really disgusting.
Here’s an excerpt of the statement released by Martin’s attorney, David Cornwell (via ProFootballTalk).
The issue is Jonathan’s treatment by his teammates. Jonathan endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing. For the entire season-and-a-half that he was with the Dolphins, he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope that doing so would end the harassment. This is a textbook reaction of victims of bullying. Despite these efforts, the taunting continued. Beyond the well-publicized voice mail with its racial epithet, Jonathan endured a malicious physical attack on him by a teammate, and daily vulgar comments such as the quote at the bottom. These facts are not in dispute.
Eventually, Jonathan made a difficult choice. Despite his love for football, Jonathan left the Dolphins. Jonathan looks forward to getting back to playing football. In the meantime, he will cooperate fully with the NFL investigation.
Quote from teammate: “We are going to run train on your sister. . . . She loves me. I am going to f–k her without a condom and c– in her c—.”
Still think Martin was being soft? Still think this was playful teasing? Still think this was innocent hazing?
Shameful.