USA TODAY International Edition
Incognito interview fails to enlighten
Richie Incognito came out of exile for a damage- control interview with Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer on Sunday that was supposed to clear the air.
It did not move the needle with me.
And, frankly, it fueled more questions about the glaring holes in the production.
Incognito, the suspended Miami Dolphins guard and face of the alleged workplace harassment that prompted second- year offensive tackle Jonathan Martin to bolt from the team and seek counseling, was rather pathetic as he tried to explain himself amid the “friendly fire” interview with Glazer, his pal who trained him in mixed martial arts tactics.
Hopefully America is not so gullible that it won’t see through this.
If you’re going to come clean in clearing your name and repairing your image, what’s to hide?
We heard nothing, though, about the role of Dolphins coaches and management in the drama.
In fact, we never saw Incognito’s response to the question about that. It was edited out. If coaches or other staff had no knowledge of the issues Incognito had a hand in what led to Martin’s decision to leave — The Sun Sentinel reported last week, citing unnamed sources, that Incognito was instructed to toughen up Martin — this was the chance to clear it up.
Instead, by not addressing it, it makes you wonder what the team’s role really was.
Nor was there any mention of the incident that occurred at a Dolphins charity event last year — Incognito reportedly had inappropriate contact with a female volunteer.
That’s the case coach Joe Philbin said last week was handled quickly by the team.
Then the organization that cut Chad Ochocinco amid domestic as-
sault charges allowed Incognito to become a member of the team’s leadership council.
Incognito’s interview revealed something about Martin, who engaged in 1,142 text messages with his supposed friend. Fox verified that.
Does that excuse or diminish the alleged harassment? Or does it indicate Martin is an emotionally troubled man who awkwardly tried to navigate the NFL culture and perhaps thought he could fit in?
It also was revealed that Martin sent a message threatening to kill Incognito’s whole ( expletive) family. Whoa. Help us, Dr. Freud. Clearly, there are even more questions about Martin.
Kill the family? Is that a response of someone trying to fit in to the vulgar culture he has found himself immersed in? Is it some psychological byproduct of bullying?
Or was he trying to strike back in some form?
For all of the people who contend that Martin didn’t stand up to the bullying — one report said Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland told Martin’s agent that the player should have fought back — you wonder what they would have thought had the player reacted with the type of gun violence that has sadly stamped too many tragedies in our society.
If Martin, chastised as too soft, had reacted with violence, then what?
What gives Incognito — who confirmed that he left a racially charged voice mail a few months ago — the right to try to mess with someone’s mind?
He tried to rationalize his use of the racial slur as indicative of how he communicated with Martin. Some friend he is.
Forget the baloney about locker room culture allowing such slurs to go unchecked. As one Dolphins player after another defended Incognito last week, I was appalled that the African- American players did not voice strong disapproval.
Yet white players such as Ryan Tannehill and others should have denounced the use of the language, too. There’s something to be said about a culture of respect.
That Incognito can declare on national TV he’s not a racist means nothing to me.
As Maya Angelou put it: People will show you who they are with their actions.
Ultimately, Martin reached a point where he snapped. That he fled after being the subject
of a seemingly harmless cafeteria prank, one that had been pulled on other teammates, strikes me as a case of a dam break.
Maybe the pressure of repeated incidents finally gave way.
That, and so much more, is left for Martin to explain.
You’re up, Jonathan Martin. But remember, it’s not about the theater of a heavily edited interview. There’s an NFL investigation now.
Speak your mind.