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Dolphins Leadership Failed Martin

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Spesh

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Beneath the disgusting details of threats and taunts and racism lies an uncomfortable truth: The NFL needs Richie Incognito more than it needs Jonathan Martin.

Coaches love players like Incognito. They look at guys like Martin, known as soft-spoken and thoughtful while at Stanford, with skepticism. Does he have the killer instinct? Does he care enough? Those questions don't apply to Incognito. Coaches might not want to see him after hours, but they love him on the field. He's indispensable, a tone-setter, the guy who announces your team's presence with a crazed, through-the-whistle style that is prized at every level.

Coaches chuckle among themselves: He might be a horrible human being, but he's our horrible human being. Sociopathic behavior from players at certain positions is not only tolerated but cherished. As long as it stays out of the headlines and the police blotters -- in other words, as long as it's kept in-house -- it provides the kind of toughness you need to compete.
Yes, this is America's game.
Own it. Even now, even after the extent of Incognito's viciousness has been revealed through voice mails and texts to Martin, there are NFL personnel people telling reporters, like Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter, that it's a man's game and Martin failed to handle it like a man. According to these unnamed men, Martin should have manned up and handled the situation face-to-face, with his fists if necessary.

You know -- like a man.

Seriously, though, did these men's men read the things Incognito reportedly said to Martin? Don't we encourage people not to deal with the deranged, to let the professionals handle it? Does anyone believe Incognito would be cowed by a confrontation?


To blame Martin is to ignore reality and uphold the twisted norms of the misguided subculture that allowed this type of environment to persist and -- dare we say -- thrive. It's also a willful refusal to connect the threat of violence to the reality of our gun-soaked, disrespect-me-and-pay-the-price ethos that has people like Aaron Hernandez sitting in jail.

Martin should be praised for walking away and letting the Dolphins sit amid the fetid steam of Incognito's behavior. Speaking of Martin, Bart Scott told Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco on ESPN New York, "Thank God he walked away. They've got to be thankful he didn't bring a gun to work."

It's soul-crushing to see how many situations in football cause people to break out the "wussification of America" card, as if being swindled and harassed and threatened is just part of the NFL workplace, the price you pay for having a job that too many American males look upon as the pinnacle of human achievement. If you can't hack having your mother threatened and your race demeaned and your well being threatened, you know, move aside for someone who can.

Incognito has spoken about being bullied as a kid, and bullies tend to be people who were bullied, the same way many sexual abusers were once abused themselves. And to guys like Incognito, guys like Martin can be seen as a threat. They don't dive headlong into the culture, and they give off a vibe of being able to get along just fine without it. This isn't an unusual trait among many oversized NFL offensive linemen. Often they're the most introspective and intelligent members of a team, and in many cases they're playing because their bodies have always dictated they play. Where else can an enormous, overweight young man profit enormously from that type of body?

To a fighter and scrapper and do-anything-to-stay-in-the-league guy like Incognito, that can be intimidating.

It's instructive to note how this story morphed from a tale of one power imbalance to another. It started with talk of extortion -- rookies being forced to pay $30,000 for a team dinner and Martin paying $15,000 for a Vegas trip he didn't even take part in -- to one of racism and viciousness and vile threats. Also instructive to note: how Incognito went from a bullying Twitter rant professing his innocence -- give the man this much: he stays in the same gear -- to radio silence after the revelation that Martin saved voice mails and text messages.

Still, they're connected by the ligaments of the subculture: If you can get away with forcing someone else to pay for your trip to Las Vegas, you probably think you can get away with anything.

It's a dynamic that happens to some degree in every sport, at every level, with both sexes. There's always non-Incognito-level hazing and teasing and there's always a self-professed team cop who takes things too seriously, receives positive reinforcement from the coaches and ends up drunk on his or her own power. When psychological issues enter the mix, as appears to be the case in Miami, an annoyance becomes a menace. It's not just sports -- fraternities and sororities and clubs are sick with this type of behavior.

Of course, the aberrant behavior ascribed to Incognito is far more prevalent among men. In short, anywhere young men are put in charge of themselves, idiocy and bullying has the opportunity to flourish. It's why the military relies on young men to do the things that need to be done, and it's also why older men are put in charge of them.

The Dolphins' situation appears to be a systemic breakdown, with the older men at the top unable -- or unwilling -- to police the younger men below.

Either that or a small part of them thought Martin was getting what he deserved, that Incognito was simply taking care of business, making sure the culture gets what the culture demands.
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http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9926888/miami-dolphins-kept-richie-incognito-control

Yup, another thread on the subject, but this one needs to be read. I agree with almost everything this articles says.

For those that bemoan the "wussification of football" or how "Martin is weak" or, as one poster so charmingly put it "Jonathan 'Big Baby' Martin": theres a difference between toughness and sadism.
You arent tough if you push people to the breaking point, you arent tough if you leave a multitude of messages on someones phone insulting them, you arent tough if spend all your time trying to tear down your teammates in one sided alpha male dick measuring contest: your sick and broken and probably need counselling.

Other teams have no problem with building a brotherhood of men without crossing those lines. We screwed up. Somewhere at sometime someone fell asleep at the wheel and allowed this thing to tumble out of control.

For those that dont see anything wrong with having an abusive workplace environment simply because it involves grown men tackling each other, this is my personal request: the next time there is a mass shooting, dont post about how this is some generational problem and how "America has lost its way!"
 
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Sorry but there was no leadership on this team...And if there was then they failed the Organization,not just 1 player.For this is a "TEAM".
 
Veteran player leadership failed Martin.
 
And that is where Ross failed today, to make a statement, clean house, and move on the right path.
 
Ok Martin is not the ultimate weak, he's just weaker than the 100 rookies that went through the same stuff with Incognito and actually brushed it off and went on with their pro football career...
 
I need to see where Martin actually TOLD someone within the organization of this stuff prior to yesterday. I have not seen or heard of it. To that point, those that think they are being harassed or bullied have a protocol to follow: tell the person doing the bullying to stop and if it continues, tell the authority figure within the institution.

I am not convinced that Martin did that.
 
This is a crazy Tiger Woods has taken more **** from more people and handled it better than the entire franchise. Although he did take an ass whippin from his old lady in Florida.
 
There is one thing that is missing in all this... the voicemails. I think the TONE of the voicemails alters a few things. Did he go overboard? Absolutely. These statements look absolutely vile in text. With just the text, many of us have imagery of a screaming, deranged psychopath yelling racial epithets and threats over a phone. However, from everything being spoken in the lockerroom, it is more likely that these voice messages were done in a more playful, non-threatening tone. Yes, words like these can still be abusive even if made in a playful tone, but there is a distinction.

Incognito is not my kind of guy to be sure... Seen too many of these unhinged bros raising ruckus in Downtown Lauderdale in my time. But this story seems to have morphed into something far more sinister than I think is really at play here.

I honestly feel that this was a case of a dumb lugnut jock being completely ignorant of the way his (self perceived) "good natured ribbing" was coming across to the much more refined Martin. I don't think Incognito necessarily had malicious intent with these words. These were two guys who just didn't "get" each other. Maybe Martin did think Incognito was being malicious, but if he did, why didn't he act on this at the time? That is still the glaring hole in this whole mess. In addition, Incognito appeared to treat other rookies (of all races) in the same way, and surprisingly, the majority of the locker room is siding with the bully Incognito. How is that so? Do they all fear retaliation from the bully?

I hate to sound like I'm defending a tool like Incognito, but there just seems to be a lot at play here considering the reaction of the locker room siding with Incognito over Martin...
 
SkapePhin said:
There is one thing that is missing in all this... the voicemails. I think the TONE of the voicemails alters a few things. Did he go overboard? Absolutely. These statements look absolutely vile in text. With just the text, many of us have imagery of a screaming, deranged psychopath yelling racial epithets and threats over a phone. However, from everything being spoken in the lockerroom, it is more likely that these voice messages were done in a more playful, non-threatening tone. Yes, words like these can still be abusive even if made in a playful tone, but there is a distinction.

Incognito is not my kind of guy to be sure... Seen too many of these unhinged bros raising ruckus in Downtown Lauderdale in my time. But this story seems to have morphed into something far more sinister than I think is really at play here.

I honestly feel that this was a case of a dumb lugnut jock being completely ignorant of the way his (self perceived) "good natured ribbing" was coming across to the much more refined Martin. I don't think Incognito necessarily had malicious intent with these words. These were two guys who just didn't "get" each other. Maybe Martin did think Incognito was being malicious, but if he did, why didn't he act on this at the time? That is still the glaring hole in this whole mess. In addition, Incognito appeared to treat other rookies (of all races) in the same way, and surprisingly, the majority of the locker room is siding with the bully Incognito. How is that so? Do they all fear retaliation from the bully?

I hate to sound like I'm defending a tool like Incognito, but there just seems to be a lot at play here considering the reaction of the locker room siding with Incognito over Martin...
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Coworkers calling my phone and leaving voicemails like that...? come on.. whether joking or not... its so unprofessional...rude..and downright hateful...

The locker room isnt "siding" with Incognito... i think many are going to say that everything in the locker room is normal. Your not going to hear any players call out Martin or Incognito.. cant make it anymore of a circus then it already is.
 
edaniel1717 said:
Coworkers calling my phone and leaving voicemails like that...? come on.. whether joking or not... its so unprofessional...rude..and downright hateful...

The locker room isnt "siding" with Incognito... i think many are going to say that everything in the locker room is normal. Your not going to hear any players call out Martin or Incognito.. cant make it anymore of a circus then it already is.
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Do you ever talk to your friends or family in a joking way that if another person took the words seriously/literally would look really bad?

I think if we all think hard that happens more than we think.

Again, I would have thought there was more stuff about Incognito from team mates...saying how he was a bum...it has not happened.

---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 PM ----------
COphinphan89 said:
I have said this as well. And now you must say another truth.

You bullied Jonathan Martin.

Say it.
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It was the last game of the year vs. New England last year in which he was god awful. I bullied him from the warmth of my man room.
 
Those who are asking for the physical evidence and "who knew what and when" are missing the point about the type of leadership that was lacking.

We had an environment in which some members would kick other members, keep kicking them, continue kicking them, never pick them up, and anyone else who noticed looked the other way. Thats not right. Not only is that a crappy work environment, its one that is destined to fail. Is it any wonder that our offensive line has been pure crap for years? The members spent to much time looking over their shoulders instead of looking towards one another. They spent to much time trying to exploit one another instead of helping them out. And this went on for years.

Anyone who has spent any sort of time on this forum knows i think these sort of things start at the top. If you want to blame Philbin or Ross or Ireland, then i wont stop you. But i didnt make this post trying to point the finger at anyone specific. This was a systematic failure. We screwed up.

And just because all of this occurred in a locker room doesnt make it right. Just because athletes talk rough doesnt make this right. Like i said in the OP, theres a difference between toughness and sadism. I'll add onto that: theres a difference between tough love and dysfunction. We crossed the line a long time ago.
 
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