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Ex-Dolphins Player At Center Of Infamous NFL Bullying Scandal Walks Back Claims
Former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin is walking back accusations that he was bullied by his teammates, namely four-time Pro Bowler Richie Incognito. The story caused a massive scandal in 2013 and led to an eventual suspension for Incognito, who eventually parted ways with the team and did not play in the 2014 season.
Incognito was suspended in 2013 after reports surfaced that he bullied Martin to the point where the latter stormed out of the team’s cafeteria. Martin was in his second year in the league after being selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
The team later announced that Incognito had been suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team.” Not long after, the league got involved by hiring attorney Ted Wells to investigate the incident, which found that Incognito, Mike Pouncey and John Jerry had all engaged in bulling Martin. The NFL’s report on the matter also noted that Martin checked himself into a mental health facility and that his mother needed to fly across the country in order to be with him at the time.
Martin During his time with the San Francisco 49ers
Photo: Jeffrey Beall
A decade later, Martin is now saying that he never believed that he was actually being bullied and is blaming the incident on his parents. “I had a situation with my teammates that I wasn’t super happy about,” the former NFL player told ESPN. “But my mother had her own read on the situation.”
The situation then spiraled out of control and generated wall-to-wall media coverage in the world of sports, despite the fact that he had not even addressed the incident with his coaches, Martin explained. “I hadn’t even told my coaches, hadn’t told anyone. And suddenly it’s on ESPN, right?” he continued. “I didn’t believe any of the stances I was taking, right, where I’m this victim. I wasn’t a victim, right? And again, it’s been a point of consternation.”
“My mother maybe in her mind – I can’t read her mind – she thought she was doing the right thing,” he added.
Incognito, who became the face of the scandal for allegedly sending a voicemail containing racial to Martin. In the wake of the latest revelations, Incognito shared his thoughts on the matter in a series of X posts.
He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me,” he said in one of the posts. “Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie! They lied to protect his money. He quit…the team had every right to claw back that money. His mom started the bullying narrative with @espn @AdamSchefter so that @MiamiDolphins wouldn’t go after his signing bonus!”
Incognito speaks with reporters during his stint with the Buffalo Bills
Martin’s mother, Jane, declined to comment when asked by ESPN, though his father, Gus, did state that they did “strongly intervene” in order to “make sure he was protected.”
Gus Martin also played the alleged voicemail sent by Incognito, which was sent to his son at the time of the incident. “Hey, what’s up, you half-n—– piece of s—,” Incognito allegedly says. “I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. I’ll s— in your f—ing mouth. I’m going to slap your f—ing mouth, I’m going to slap your real mother across the face. F— you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.”
During an appearance on “HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” in 2019, Incognito denied allegations of bullying and blamed Martin’s mental health issues for his exit from the league, which came not long after he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. “I fit the bill. Hey, racist, homophobic, whatnot. What I’m saying was, we were close, personal friends. It wasn’t factored into, ‘Hey, this is guy talk, these are two alpha males talking to each other.’ Was some bad s–t said? Absolutely. But was this a case of bullying? Absolutely not,” he said.
