Differences of opinion make the world go round, but frankly Snoopy, I believe a lot of fans are embracing the vision of a poor 325lb lineman being put upon and bullied, despite all indications otherwise, soley due to their desire to for this "regime" to be depicted in the worst possible light even if undeserved on this, cuz the ends justify the means. I'm not one of them.
Maybe Monday or Tuesday, during some downtime while working, I'll compile everything I know so far into a thread called "Compellng Reasons To Indict Jonathan Martin" or something to that effect. But to sum up:
It's hard to believe that his 1100 texts to Incog including his I'll eff up your whole damn family graphic a few weeks before Richie responded in kind reflects being a "victim." Throw in that he himself perpetrated many of the same standard pranks on others like stealing a teammate's car and getting up when another sat down. If he did that two weeks ago, why was that the breaking point unless it was pre-planned? Why did he first speak to a reporter and then check himself into a mental facility for a short stay before rushing home to mommy? All this screams "set-up" to me. Why the **** would he speak to a reporter but never report the so-called "bullying" to anyone in the Fins coaching hierarchy? And why are his teammates who are brave enough to have their comments attributed declaring that they never saw any indications of his allegations. And who has come forward to confirm his allegations as eye-witnesses? And yeah, I'm sure Richie took it too far at the coaches' requests, but during all the many linemen he went to war with in StL, Buffalo and up til now in Davie, has there been a single one who has come forward with even a germ of the same complaint? How come Martin's so special? Clearly he had no problem dishing it out but became a sensitive girl when the tables were turned.
And why is he so anxious to take the franchise down if he never provided input on his perceived problems? The Fins are now the whipping boy of the league, but really, does anyone think what occurs in its locker room differs greatly from the majority of other locker rooms in the league? If you don't think a lot of other teams and specific alpha dogs on those teams are breathing a sigh of relief thinking "there but for the grace of god go I" then you're being naive!
And why can't a 325lb man handle his own issues without going postal about it? So what if he got the crap kicked out of him, he'd have made his point and been respected for speaking up instead of being a *****! My dad taught me early on to resolve my own problems cuz it built backbone.. unless they really got out of control and when my son was young, in turn I encouraged him to do the same with the assurance that if he had to back down a bully physically, so long as he was reacting I'd have his back with the school and other parents aggressively, not apologetically. I shared with him that in HS I was never bullied except one time and for a week, incredulous that I was being singled out, I more or less ignored it and by doing so invited more of it.. That's until in the cafeteria after being pushed, I stuck a fork deep in his hand. I had a few weeks detention as a result but also was never screwed around with again. And that was the most valuable lesson I learned in HS!
I think Martin and his family are grifters on this, could well have preempted anything that may have occurred (and I question that to begin with) and could have handled this internally instead of with a orchestrated scorched earth campaign. There's more at play here, like redefining traditional locker room hazing and rites of passage so that the same kind of Pandora's Box that opened wide for the head injury litigants, in this instance be the rationale for a bunch of marginal players over the decades to come forward to dip into the NFL's deep pockets.
Even if he was hazed, I doubt it rises to the standard of any kind of bullying that's beyond NFL business as usual. But even if he was the victim, despite all the foregoing evidence to the contrary, and more, the cowardly way he chose to internalize and then handle it has forfeited any sympathy I might have mustered. Consequently I wish him exactly what a lot of others think he deserves.
/soapbox dismount
