USA TODAY International Edition
Dolphins’ woes pile up
Owner Ross decries bullying; team falls to Bucs
TAMPA A win might have helped the Miami Dolphins ease the frustration of the last two weeks. Instead, the team fell below .500 as controversy continued to surround it.
The Dolphins ( 4- 5) struggled against a team that has had its own share of negative national attention this season, falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 22- 19 at Raymond James Stadium on Monday.
Giving the Bucs ( 1- 8) their first win came as the alleged harassment of offensive tackle Jonathan Martin by his teammates continued to hang over the Dolphins.
Before kickoff, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross held a 15- minute news conference that represented his first public comments since Martin’s departure. Ross said he would meet with Martin on Wednesday to help determine what factors led to the player leaving the team Oct. 28. The suspension of guard Richie Incognito on Nov. 3 made the Dolphins national news for discussions on bullying, hazing and locker room culture.
Martin, a second- year player from Stanford, left the team facility after a prank in the cafeteria. Incognito was suspended after news media reports indicated he had played a role in harassment that led Martin to leave.
On Monday, Ross and CEO Tom Garfinkel stressed that the organization would not rush to judgment and would make changes to policies as the facts of an NFL investigation dictated.
Ross said he has been communicating with Martin via text message. He also gave wholehearted support to second- year coach Joe Philbin.
“What’s gone on, it’s really something that couldn’t have been a worse nightmare,” Ross said. “The most important thing is that we care about Jonathan Martin. Immediately after the incident took place in the cafeteria, Joe Philbin called me, told me what had happened and ( was) trying to go out and find Jonathan Martin.”
Aside from the controversy that has surrounded the team, the absence of Martin and Incognito left Miami with a practical problem — two- fifths of its starting offensive line was missing.
It showed against the Bucs, with the Dolphins rushing for 2 yards, the fewest in franchise history.
Guard Nate Garner and tackle Tyson Clabo filled the holes on the line, but around the stadium, fans showed loyalty to Martin and Incognito. A woman wearing a Dolphins jersey in Section 128 held up a bright orange sign that said, “We want Richie back.”
In section 139, another Dolphins fan held a sign that said, “Incognito, c’mon man!”
Martin, 24, has hired lawyer David Cornwell to represent him. Cornwell released text of a voice message Incognito left for Martin in which he used racially charged language and said to Martin, “I’ll kill you.”
In an interview with Fox Sports that aired Sunday, Incognito, 30, acknowledged leaving the message but said he is not a racist.
“I’ve taken stuff too far. I did not intend to hurt him,” the Pro Bowl guard told Fox Sports. “When the words are put in context, I under- stand why eyebrows got raised. But people don’t understand how Jon and I communicate with each other.”
Those words caused immediate concern for Ross, who said he was unaware of these issues before Martin’s departure.
“I was appalled ( by the language in the voice mail). Anybody would be appalled,” Ross said. “When you first read that text that was reported, to me, I didn’t realize people would call, text or speak that way.
“There will not be racial slurs or harassing or bullying in that workplace, in that locker room and outside the locker room.”
Ross did not mention Incognito’s name throughout the news conference. When pressed on whether he planned to meet with the suspended player, he conceded that could happen after he meets with Martin and gathers facts.
Ross, however, clearly supported his embattled coach.
“I don’t think there’s a better person, a more respected person, a more caring person in the National Football League than Joe Philbin,” Ross said. “I have total, utmost confidence in Joe Philbin as our coach.”