The Richie Incognito hazing controversy took a dramatic twist Tuesday night when a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., newspaper reported Dolphins coaches had ordered the offensive lineman to “toughen up” teammate Jonathan Martin.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, sources said Incognito was acting at the direction of unspecified members of the coaching staff when he left the now-infamous voice mail last April containing a racial epithet and vulgar threats.
That voice mail resulted in Incognito being suspended indefinitely by the Dolphins on Sunday, days after Martin left the team, reportedly because of Incognito’s harassment.
The bombshell report suddenly shifts scrutiny from Incognito to second-year Dolphins coach Joe Philbin and his coaching staff as the NFL formally investigates the circumstances around Martin’s departure.
Acting under orders also might explain why Incognito didn’t appear worried about the situation Tuesday afternoon when he took delivery of a new Ferrari at his Fort Lauderdale home and spoke briefly to a local TV station.
“I’m just trying to weather the storm,” Incognito, who is on the Dolphins’ reserve/suspended list, told WSVN. “This will pass.”
Sources told the Sun-Sentinel coaches assigned Incognito to hound his fellow offensive lineman last April after Martin had skipped two days of voluntary practices at the Dolphins’ facility in Davie, Fla., in favor of working out on his own.
The paper said Incognito took the marching orders from the coaches too far and “crossed the line.”
Incognito remains under suspension by the team and Martin is still absent from the club, but it is Martin who finds himself under fire instead from teammates and players from other teams for not reporting Incognito’s alleged harassment or confronting him about it.
The controversy has engulfed the Dolphins since Sunday, when they announced Incognito’s suspension after Martin’s family gave them the voice mail and threatening text messages from Incognito last spring.
ESPN reported Tuesday Martin said nothing to Philbin last spring when the two met at Martin’s request to discuss the second-year player’s personal problems.
Dolphins players told reporters in Miami Martin also had reported nothing about alleged harassment or bullying by Incognito to the team’s six-player leadership council, though Incognito had recently been voted a member of that group by teammates.
Dolphins linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, another member of the leadership council, expressed disappointment Martin had reported nothing to the group before suddenly walking out on the team 10 days ago because of a lunch-room incident at the club’s practice facility.
“I never heard anything about it until now,” Ellerbe told Miami reporters. “We don’t have no problem with [coming forward]. We would try to handle it the best way possible. We would rather that [happen] than this [controversy].”
Support for Incognito and not Martin has been high within the Dolphins’ locker room since Incognito was suspended, with wide receiver Mike Wallace and others jumping to Incognito’s defense.
The NFL Players Association also appeared to bring some balance to the situation Tuesday, releasing a statement that said the union would be monitoring the NFL’s investigation for fairness.
“We expect that the NFL and its clubs create a safe and professional workplace for all players and that owners, executives, coaches and players should set the best standards and examples,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “It is the duty of this union to hold the clubs and teams accountable for safety and professionalism in the workplace.
“As the representative organization of all players, the NFLPA will insist on a fair investigation for all involved. We will continue to remain in contact with the impacted players, their representatives and player leadership.”
Meanwhile, Martin’s high school coach told the Palm Beach Post he wouldn’t be surprised if Martin was bullied because of his wealthy upbringing in suburban Los Angeles and Stanford pedigree.
“Bullies usually go after people like him,” Harvard-Westlake School coach Vic Eumont said. “With his background, he’s a perfect target. Before he wasn’t around Nebraska, LSU kind of guys. He’s always been around Stanford, Duke, Rice kind of players.”
“In locker rooms full of Nebraska, LSU, Southern Cal players, Miami players, they’ll look at this as a weakness. If he makes it through all this, and if he was encouraged to come back, he’d come back with a vengeance.”
Eumont encouraged the Dolphins to stick with Martin.
“I think he’s a guy the Dolphins should work to get back in the fold. I think he can be an excellent player. He’s a great kid. He’s worth saving. If ever there’s a kid worth saving, he’s one of them.”