Dolphins Incognito

            Even if you don’t follow the NFL or sports in general, you heard about the events of last week between Johnathan Martin and Richie Incognito. Both these men and I stress men, are Professional Football players on the Miami Dolphins. They play next to each other on the offensive line. When you play next to each other in the same unit usually a bond is made. This was not the case.

            Let me quickly recap the situation before I give my opinion. Martin left the Dolphins facility two weeks ago after a practical joke. His teammates refused to sit next to him in the cafeteria because he was ‘sick.’ Martin snapped and threw his tray and stormed out of the facility. Reports came down that he had an emotional break down due to constant bullying in the locker room. Further reports came out that a particular player Richie Incognito bullied him. There were voicemails and texts messages with extremely offensive language and derogatory statements that have lead some to deem this a racial hate crime since Incognito is white and Martin is black. Other reports have come out since then that Incognito was told by the coaching staff or someone in the organization to toughen Martin up. Now there is a full-blown investigation into this matter, from top to bottom the entire Miami Dolphins organization is under investigation.

            There are numerous issues with this situation that should be addressed. I plan to give my opinion on only two because I believed they are linked.

            The first issue is bullying in the locker room. Yes there is bullying in the NFL, there is hazing, but there are limits. It takes a moral man to know his limits. Throughout life we are tried and tested constantly by bullies. They come in all shapes and forms. In the NFL it is expected. You bully the other team on the field imposing your will on them. Sometimes coaches have to be bullies to get the maximum potential out of their players. Its how you go about the bullying that can make it acceptable or not.

            I have no doubt in my mind that someone in the organization ordered Incognito to toughen Martin up mentally. Martin was a high profile draft pick and the Dolphins needed to get a mean streak in this kid so he could dominate at the line of scrimmage. Whoever ordered the “code red” should have monitored the situation.

            There is no way anyone can say this is not Incognitos fault though he is trying to deflect blame. I don’t care if he that he was ordered to administer the treatment. He crossed a line with how you do it. You do not go as far as he did. This is not a race hate crime rather a abuse crime in this case mental. It's interesting to note that Dolphin players have come out defending Martin. Some players have come out defending Incognito. How can there be such a schism in the locker room? It starts with the organizations lead and the coaching staff. They set the tone. So clearly there is something wrong in Miami.

            The second issue is that it was ordered and not monitored. I have no problem that it was issued. Some kids in the NFL and in life need some toughening up. I can speak from experience. I was bullied non-stop as a kid. I was even beat up a few times. Looking back now I don’t think of those situations as such a bad thing. They helped shape me and mold me into the man I am. I needed toughening up, perhaps it could have been done in a different way, but that was how it was done. Going back to the Dolphins organization, if you ordered it, follow up and make sure its being done right. It could be that the man ordering the “code red” didn’t think that Incognito take it as far as he did, but that is still no excuse. 

            The bottom line here is that Dolphins organization and Incognito are both at fault. I have no doubt that after the investigation is done and the reports are released both will be held at fault. The reports will be made public according to the NFL.

            Which once again brings me back to the word “code red” why do I keep using it? Because this situation reminds of the movie a Few Good Men. I warn you the clip below has some vulgar words in it.