Details are beginning to emerge surrounding the alleged harassment of Miami Dolphins rookie Jonathan Martin by veterans on the team namely veteran offensive lineman Richie Incognito which contain slurs, profanity and physical threats.
According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, Incognito sent several voice and text messages to Martin referring to him as a “half-ni**er” as wells as physical threats to Martin and his family.
Among the texts that Jonathan Martin made available to his parents, and then, eventually the Dolphins and the NFL, include those in which Richie Incognito refers to Martin, who is biracial, as a “half-n*****,” according to a source who was privy to the communication.
There are several instances of threats as well, the sources said, and overall disturbing exchanges, including one in which Incognito refers to defecating in Martin’s mouth.
Incognito also made reference to tracking down members of Martin’s family and harming them in the texts as well, according to a source.
Further, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting further instances of harassment towards Martin by Incognito that forced the rookie to leave the team for what was said to be personal reasons last week.
1: Richie Incognito left this VM for Jonathan Martin in April 2013: "Hey, wassup, you half n—– piece of (expletive)…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2013
2. More Incognito to Martin: "I saw you on Twitter, you been training ten weeks. (I want to) (expletive) in your (expl) mouth….
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2013
3. Incognito VM to Martin: "(I'm going to) slap your (expletive) mouth. (I'm going to) slap your real mother across the face (laughter).
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2013
4. Incognito to Martin, all on same VM in April 2013: "(Expletive) you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2013
Incognito certainly seems to be the biggest culprit however The Miami Herald released a story Sunday highlighting that many veteran players on the Dolphins often would subject the rookies to paying ridiculous dinner bills while almost using them as their own personal ATM’s to support a lavish lifestyle on South Beach.
Young Dolphins players are under pressure to dig deep into their pockets to pay for veterans’ social outings, a practice that is straining their finances and locker room chemistry,
Younger players were handed the tab for a $30,000 team dinner, according to a source. The rookie minimum salary this year is about $400,000.
Will Davis, a rookie cornerback, tweeted Sunday: “The bill was definitely split. . . . They would never put that on one man to pay for it all. Haha now that would be crazy . . .”
Every team has a rookie dinner outing, which is what Odrick was referring to in his tweet, but at issue are incidents that extend far beyond a onetime meal deal.
The source characterized Dolphins veterans using younger players as ATMs to finance their nightlife whims. These older players have been caught up in the fast-paced Miami lifestyle without the burden of having to pay for it, the source continued.
Since news of all of this broke, Incognito has been suspended by the Dolphins indefinitely while the NFLPA conducts their own investigation into the matter. The team itself denies being aware of any of the harassment inside the locker room however with the amount of coaches in the locker room, the amount of time these guys actually spend with each other throughout the season and social media that’s really hard to believe being true. Not to mention you’d have to wonder based on the severity of what happened and if true what kind of legal ramifications does this leave the Dolphins organization up to?
It’s also understandable that hazing to some degree takes place in an NFL locker room. However this certainly goes above and beyond what should be acceptable behavior not just for professional athletes but human beings.