Other NFL Players' Perspectives on Dolphins' Leadership and Culture

[Shouright]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9...ises-question-whether-nfl-locker-rooms-police

[Bernard] Pollard believes the Dolphins controversy never would have occurred on the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens team that he played on last season, one that included dominant personalities such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and Ray Rice. If there is anything that is supposed to be a given in the NFL, it's that the locker room will always police itself.

"If that had happened in Baltimore, we probably would've approached Incognito and told him to stop because we would've needed Martin to help us win. If that didn't work, we would've gone to [general manager] Ozzie Newsome and [head coach] John Harbaugh and tried to get him out of there. And if it didn't stop there -- and I'm not calling Incognito a punk -- then somebody would've put hands on him."

The overriding consensus in this Miami drama -- where Incognito is currently suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and Martin has left the team after allegations of relentless harassment -- is that it defies logic on so many levels.

There are lingering questions about: (1) why the Dolphins made Incognito, a player with a checkered past, a team leader; (2) what ultimately led Martin to snap and leave the team; and (3) how much the coaches and front office knew about the situation between the two players. But it is the question of why no one in the locker room stepped in to control the situation that most baffles players around the league.

The problem with these kinds of perceptions is that they start with the implied premise that someone within the Dolphins' organization was aware of Jonathan Martin's state of mind, if in fact he was displeased with the goings on in the locker room, whereas no one knows whether that was in fact the case. If no one knew what was going on with him, then there was nothing to "police."

At some point, somebody has to turn the attention toward Jonathan Martin and examine whether he ever handled his end of the bargain in terms of making it known that he was ever displeased with the goings on within the locker room.

It's amazing to me personally how so many people can assume Jonathan Martin's motives are so certain to have stemmed from the Miami Dolphins' locker room culture, whereas it's entirely possible that he's imputing his own personal problems to the Dolphins as a way of making the team responsible in the public eye and continuing to be paid.

One can argue that the 'N' word was evidence of something Jonathan Martin would've most certainly been displeased about, but while the word itself may be inappropriate and perhaps should never be used in any context, it isn't evidence in itself that the true cause of Jonathan Martin's distress was the Miami Dolphins' locker room culture. He could have his own personal demons that have nothing at all to do with the team, or he could've been displeased with the team and have never made it known to anyone in the least.

 

[NCFINFAN13]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9...ises-question-whether-nfl-locker-rooms-police

The problem with these kinds of perceptions is that they start with the implied premise that someone within the Dolphins' organization was aware of Jonathan Martin's state of mind, if in fact he was displeased with the goings on in the locker room, whereas no one knows whether that was in fact the case. If no one knew what was going on with him, then there was nothing to "police."

At some point, somebody has to turn the attention toward Jonathan Martin and examine whether he ever handled his end of the bargain in terms of making it known that he was ever displeased with the goings on within the locker room.

It's amazing to me personally how so many people can assume Jonathan Martin's motives are so certain to have stemmed from the Miami Dolphins' locker room culture, whereas it's entirely possible that he's imputing his own personal problems to the Dolphins as a way of making the team responsible in the public eye and continuing to be paid.

One can argue that the 'N' word was evidence of something Jonathan Martin would've most certainly been displeased about, but while the word itself may be inappropriate and perhaps should never be used in any context, it isn't evidence in itself that the true cause of Jonathan Martin's distress was the Miami Dolphins' locker room culture. He could have his own personal demons that have nothing at all to do with the team.

While I agree with you, you haven't heard the news .... it's all the locker rooms fault because there's no integrity.

 

[jvw]

I think what he is saying is, not one person was close enough to Martin to see he was having issues or someone he felt comfortable enough to come to...It is possible that Martin hid this very well and put on a happy face and keep it inside until he lost his starting job and snapped.....I didn't hear most of the fins players comments on the situation but I hope someone took responsibility for not reaching out to him or say I wish I knew he felt this way or wish I could have reached out to him so he felt comfortable enough to talk to me about it and not just point the finger.....real leaders look at themselves first when there is break down in communication, first by looking for signs you may have missed, conversations you may misinterpreted, situations you wish you could have differently.....do every thing you can to learn from the experience so you can minimize this issue repeating itself.....this is what I will be looking from the teams leaders going forward......did they learn anything from this?

 

[carjackistan]

Agreed with Pollard. Like it or not, guys like Incognito and Pouncey are in almost every locker room. However, in most locker rooms they aren't the leaders, or the only leaders, and there is someone else to reign them in.

 

[Shouright]

Agreed with Pollard. Like it or not, guys like Incognito and Pouncey are in almost every locker room. However, in most locker rooms they aren't the leaders, or the only leaders, and there is someone else to reign them in.

Because at some point along the way, there is the perception that something needs to be reined in.

What if in this case that perception never happened, because Martin never made it known he was bothered by anything? What if he even gave the impression that the 'N' word was okay by him?

 

[GoonBoss]

Ray Lewis.....*Snort*

 

[dolphans1]

It's been pretty much confirmed that Martin was a quite and reserved guy, he pretty much stayed to himself.

In a text to Incognito, Martin said its not him feeding the media, well if its not him, well then who is it?

It would be funny if players in the future could file a lawsuit, for being cut and being treated differently or for not getting enough playing time.

Football is not like a real business, that's why they are exempt from antitrust laws and are allowed to revenue share.

 

[phin17]

Can't do something if there weren't any signs that there were problems. People need to stop blaming everyone but Martin unless there is proof or there were signs he had issues .....its Martin responsibility to prove guilty not dolphins to prove innocence .

 

[vt_dolfan]

Oh come on. Please..like any other player is gonna be dumb enough to say..oh hell yeh, we talk like that and do that in our locker room all the time.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[finfan54]

It's been pretty much confirmed that Martin was a quite and reserved guy, he pretty much stayed to himself.

In a text to Incognito, Martin said its not him feeding the media, well if its not him, well then who is it?

It would be funny if players in the future could file a lawsuit, for being cut and being treated differently or for not getting enough playing time.

Football is not like a real business, that's why they are exempt from antitrust laws and are allowed to revenue share.

people who hang out in the legal world with Gloria Alred. Wicked witch of the west.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...mother-1112-20131111,0,152863.story?track=rss

 

[jvw]

Oh come on. Please..like any other player is gonna be dumb enough to say..oh hell yeh, we talk like that and do that in our locker room all the time.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

I have heard players come out and say yes it happens everywhere...the difference is they keep it in house and fix it before it becomes public......it seems the locker rooms that have won super bowls feels what happened here is a big deal and could never happen there and those middle of the road teams don't think its a big deal....

To win super bowls you must have strong veteran leadership in the locker room, our veteran leader was Richie lol

 

[Shouright]

I have heard players come out and say yes it happens everywhere...the difference is they keep it in house and fix it before it becomes public......it seems the locker rooms that have won super bowls feels what happened here is a big deal and could never happen there and those middle of the road teams don't think its a big deal....

To win super bowls you must have strong veteran leadership in the locker room, our veteran leader was Richie lol

But for that to happen, they would have to be made aware of it!

It's entirely possible that this situation involves the one set of circumstances known to date in which: 1) someone like Martin was displeased, 2) he didn't make it known to his teammates, so there was no perception on their part that anything needed to be done, and 3) he didn't keep it to himself.

It's possible that in every other similar scenario in the history of the NFL, the displeased player: 1) made his state of mind known to some entity within the team, which then solved the issue, or 2) never made it known to anyone, ever.

What we could have here is a player who didn't make the issue known to anyone within the organization, and, instead of suppressing the issue within himself and just going with the flow, he left the team and went to the media.

The perception that other locker rooms could've prevented something like that I think is a serious overestimation of their abilities.

But again, the problem with these sentiments is that they start with the idea that people within the organization were aware of Martin's state of mind, when in reality we've heard no evidence of that to date.

These other players need to start instead with the question, "if I and my teammates were not aware that a player was feeling this way, could we have intervened in a way any better than the Dolphins did?"

But instead that question isn't asked. It's as if the team must have been aware Martin was distressed, which I think is an erroneous assumption, given the evidence to date.

 

[scodoublet]

To win super bowls you must have strong veteran leadership in the locker room, our veteran leader was Richie lol

So sad...yet so true...

I don't know how the investigation will go, as far as confidentiality, but I'd love to hear what players really have to say about all this.

 

[raving]

I agree with the article that having Incog as a "leader" was in and of itself loaded...The guy likely has a substance abuse issue, and he has boundary problems - Golf club incident.

Jonathan Martin very likely has all the issue you have wondered about in your statement. So the front office used an anvil where they needed a scalpel.
Martin needed to be motivated and pushed in a different way then he was. In that sense he was a poor draft choice for the Dolphins. He may have thrived in Seattle - he could be a backup for a while and he can Mr. Rogers (the college coach up there) help him pick out cardigan sweaters to wear while they go out to eat at fine restaurants. Just sayin

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9...ises-question-whether-nfl-locker-rooms-police

The problem with these kinds of perceptions is that they start with the implied premise that someone within the Dolphins' organization was aware of Jonathan Martin's state of mind, if in fact he was displeased with the goings on in the locker room, whereas no one knows whether that was in fact the case. If no one knew what was going on with him, then there was nothing to "police."

At some point, somebody has to turn the attention toward Jonathan Martin and examine whether he ever handled his end of the bargain in terms of making it known that he was ever displeased with the goings on within the locker room.

It's amazing to me personally how so many people can assume Jonathan Martin's motives are so certain to have stemmed from the Miami Dolphins' locker room culture, whereas it's entirely possible that he's imputing his own personal problems to the Dolphins as a way of making the team responsible in the public eye and continuing to be paid.

One can argue that the 'N' word was evidence of something Jonathan Martin would've most certainly been displeased about, but while the word itself may be inappropriate and perhaps should never be used in any context, it isn't evidence in itself that the true cause of Jonathan Martin's distress was the Miami Dolphins' locker room culture. He could have his own personal demons that have nothing at all to do with the team, or he could've been displeased with the team and have never made it known to anyone in the least.

 

[DullFins]

I agree with the article that having Incog as a "leader" was in and of itself loaded...The guy likely has a substance abuse issue, and he has boundary problems - Golf club incident./QUOTE]

He's a raving lunatic that belongs in a cage. While such behavior is most often accepted in the NFL, Incognito is not a suitable leader.

Onward and upward. I still think we can swing 8-8 and I'm pumped! We are the best team in FL!