Report: Jonathan Martin “gone AWOL” from Dolphins

[mcnuttz]

Did Miami teammate threaten Martin?

UPDATED NOV 4, 2013 6:34 AM ET

The Jonathan Martin situation continues to unfurl and escalate, with the latest allegations turning what seemed to be a simple case of bullying into perhaps much more.
Multiple sources told FOX Sports the Miami Dolphins and the NFL Players Association have been told guard Richie Incognito sent Martin text messages and left him voicemails that are both threatening and racially charged in nature. Sources said those messages will be shared with the league as part of the investigation.

​

This new information resulted in the Dolphins changing their tone from claiming the organization was not notified of any bullying to saying the club would ask the NFL for help in investigating a matter the organization takes "very seriously" and finally to suspending Incognito indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team."
The explosive information concerning racially charged threats means the league is not dealing with harassment here. This is an alleged hate crime.
The Dolphins declined specific comment and deferred to the league office, which is handling the investigation. A league spokesman had no comment on the specifics of the case, saying only the NFL will conduct a "thorough review" of the situation.

Martin has been away from the team since walking out of the facility following a prank played by his fellow offensive linemen last Monday in the cafeteria. The team listed Martin on the injury report with an unspecified "illness." FOX Sports' Jay Glazer reported Martin was receiving treatment. Glazer stated on FOX NFL Sunday "there's a lot more to the story with Jonathan Martin personally than meets the eye."

Earlier Sunday, the Dolphins had released a statement refuting reports Martin had left the team over bullying.
"The notion of bullying is based on speculation and has not been presented to us as a concern from Jonathan or anyone else internally," the statement read in part.
Meanwhile, Incognito took to Twitter to criticize the speculation that he played a part in Martin leaving the team. "I want my named CLEARED," he wrote in one of several tweets defending himself against the allegations.

But by Sunday evening, the Dolphins had suspended Incognito, saying in a statement: "We believe in maintaining a culture of respect for one another, and as a result we believe this decision is in the best interest of the organization at this time."

Martin, a second-round draft pick out of Stanford in 2012, started the first six games at left tackle this season before moving to right tackle for the Oct. 27 loss at New England. Tyson Claboreplaced him in Thursday night's overtime win against Cincinnati.

 

[Texas Ace]

Richie Incognito is a real piece of shit.

It's amazing no one has taken his knees out by now.

 

[BipolarFuk]

ESPN.com news services

Transcripts of voice mail messages and text messages left for the Miami Dolphins' Jonathan Martin by teammate Richie Incognito indicate a pattern of racial epithets and profane language.

Multiple sources confirmed to ESPN that the following is a transcript of a voice message Incognito left for Martin in April 2013, a year after Martin was drafted:

"Hey, wassup, you half n----- piece of s---. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s--- in your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F--- you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you."

Sources tell ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that officials from both the NFL and the Dolphins have heard the tape and have copies of the message.

Sources familiar with the tapes say these are terms Incognito used over time and were not isolated incidents, including the use of the racial epithet multiple times.

Sources also say Martin received a series of texts that include derogatory terms referring to the female anatomy and sexual orientation.

Incognito was suspended indefinitely by the Dolphins on Sunday night for conduct detrimental to the team.

In a statement announcing his suspension, the Dolphins said, "we believe in maintaining a culture of respect for one another and as a result we believe this decision is in the best interest of the organization at this time. As we noted earlier, we reached out to the NFL to conduct an objective and thorough review. We will continue to work with the league on this matter."

Incognito, who has been a part of Miami's six-player leadership council, started all eight games for the Dolphins (4-4). He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Backup guard Nate Garner will start in his place.

Martin left the team last week after a lunchroom incident. It is unknown whether and when Martin plans to return to the team. The Dolphins have until 4 p.m. ET Tuesday to take him off the non-football-related illness list.

 

[Deuce]

Incognito is certifiably insane. But Martin needs to man up. The big bad bully is gone so get back to work.

 

[NoDak]

This sheds a bit more light on the Incognito/Antonio Smith stuff from last year and this preseason.

I laughed when Smith said he forgave Incognito, but it looks like we might not have heard the whole story of why Smith kicked him in the head last year, then tried to hit him with his own helmet this year. I'd bet there was a lot of racial bullshit going on that led to it.

 

[VA Cowboy]

Incognito is a meathead retard.... and Jonathan Martin looks to be one of those sensitive liberal types from Stanford.

 

[Deuce]

As far as the racism goes, let's remember Incognito did go to Nebraska.

~avoids eye contact with Carp~

 

[Smitty]

FWIW, I encourage a little rookie hazing and don't think that a football field is a place to enforce corporate america guidelines for behavior.

It appears Incognito went to far and it should be up to the team to suspend him when he has done so, but I don't think we should get a blanket ruling outlawing all forms of "hazing."

 

[Carp]

There is a fine line though...dropping a $30K bill on someone is ridiculous. Carrying pads and stuff like that, fine, but this was ridiculous. Martin was not even a rookie anymore. The guy has issues at Neb and St Lou...he is a racist, unintelligent idiot. F him.

He looks particularly bad in denying everything and even going after Schefter in doing so.

 

[boozeman]

Report: Dolphins are “done” with Incognito

Posted by Darin Gantt on November 4, 2013, 3:44 PM EST

Boy, that escalated quickly.

In the last 24 hours, Dolphins guard Richie Incognito has gone from defending his honor on Twitter to being shielded by the team to being suspended for conduct detrimental for the team.

And now, his career as a Dolphin is apparently near its end.

A team source told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald “He’s done” when asked about Incognito’s status.

“There are procedures in place and everyone wants to be fair,” the source said. “The NFL is involved. But from a club perspective he’ll never play another game here.”

While the reports that he bullied teammate Jonathan Martin may have made him hard to employ, there were pragmatic football considerations as well. He’s a 30-year-old who was going to be a free agent after this season anyway, and he plays one of the positions considered most fungible in the league.

He has value as a player, but he’s not worth the $4 million he’s making or the trouble he’s creating at the moment.

Either way, the Dolphins do not seem inclined to have him representing them again, though they’ll need to wait to see how the league’s due process shakes out before they can make any declarations.

 

[junk]

Alcohol.

Like what? Fine wines or bottle service? I could see bottle service, but that would be at a club, not dinner. Wine? I could see that too, but it makes me laugh to see a bunch of football players drinking fine wine.

 

[data]

...and Jonathan Martin looks to be one of those sensitive liberal types from Stanford.

Because he doesn't like being called the n-word?

 

[Angrymesscan]

Like what? Fine wines or bottle service? I could see bottle service, but that would be at a club, not dinner. Wine? I could see that too, but it makes me laugh to see a bunch of football players drinking fine wine.

Yes and yes, and it's probably just about getting the bill as high as possible so they'll order the most expensive stuff they can find.

 

[vince]

Like what? Fine wines or bottle service? I could see bottle service, but that would be at a club, not dinner. Wine? I could see that too, but it makes me laugh to see a bunch of football players drinking fine wine.

Louie XIII and cokes?

 

[boozeman]

Like what? Fine wines or bottle service? I could see bottle service, but that would be at a club, not dinner. Wine? I could see that too, but it makes me laugh to see a bunch of football players drinking fine wine.

I can see these guys ordering bottles of champagne 2-3 at a time to get that.

 

[Texas Ace]

This sheds a bit more light on the Incognito/Antonio Smith stuff from last year and this preseason.

I laughed when Smith said he forgave Incognito, but it looks like we might not have heard the whole story of why Smith kicked him in the head last year, then tried to hit him with his own helmet this year. I'd bet there was a lot of racial bullshit going on that led to it.

Like I said, Incognito is a piece of shit and he has a history of getting under players' skin like he did with Antonio Smith.

He's a dirtbag.



Date Incident
Oct. 2013 Suspended indefinitely by Dolphins after alleged harassment of teammate Jonathan Martin
Aug. 2013 Texans DE Antonio Smith suspended for Week 1 for swinging helmet at Incognito during game
Dec. 2011 Raiders DT Richard Seymour fined $30,000 for punching Incognito during game
Dec. 2009 Released by Rams two days after being penalized twice for personal fouls and arguing with coach Steve Spagnuolo during game against Titans
2009 season Voted NFL's "dirtiest player" in poll of NFL players by Sporting News
Oct. 2004 Dismissed from Oregon football program after transferring to school in September
Sept. 2004 Suspended indefinitely by Nebraska coach Bill Callahan for repeated violations of team rules
June 2004 Convicted of misdemeanor assault charge stemming from incident at party in February
Spring 2003 Suspended by Nebraska coach Frank Solich (reinstated prior to season)

 

[1bigfan13]

I like how all these current and former players and coaches are trying to distance themselves from rookie hazing.

They're all like, wah?!?! We've never tolerated hazing.

Which is complete BS.

Before this Incognito story broke I've heard several players tell stories of how rookies would be stuck with $5K dinner bills and such.

Racial slurs and hateful comments weren't thrown around like in Incognito's case but for these players and coaches to act as if they didn't participate or have knowledge of activities that exploited rookies is laughable.

 

[Cotton]

I still am having a hard time how a grown damn man could accuse another grown damn man of "bullying".

 

[L.T. Fan]

I still am having a hard time how a grown damn man could accuse another grown damn man of "bullying".

I am not sure one accused the other of "bullying" memory serves me that the story broke this a player went from the team and refused to come back. I think the media threw in the label and it grew from there.

 

[1bigfan13]

I'd call it a hostile work environment rather than bullying.