An independent report commissioned by the Miami Dolphins and the NFL reveals that Richie Incognito did in fact bully former teammate Jonathan Martin, as well as at least one other teammate and one team employee.

After Martin abruptly left the Miami Dolphins in October, 2013, and went to check himself into a hospital for psychological treatment. After rumors about the reason behind Martin’s sudden departure from the team began heating up, Martin publicly accused Incognito of cultivating a hostile environment on the Miami Dolphins team. In November, Incognito was suspended from the Miami Dolphins and the NFL hired Ted Wells, a lawyer, in November to look into the allegations of bullying and abuse.

Report Confirms Martin's Allegations Of Bullying By Incognito

According to the 144-page report, Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey harassed Martin, a young offensive lineman who wishes to remain unnamed and a member of the training staff. The report claims that the member of the training staff was on the receiving end of racial slurs and racist taunting, while the offensive lineman was frequently called homophobic names and was the victim of “inappropriate physical touching.” Martin, says the report, was frequently bullied by explicit taunts regarding his sister and mother, as well as racial slurs and other hurtful insults.

Allegations of extreme bullying and abuse began after Martin released a voice mail message Incognito left for him prior to his departure from the team. Transcripts of the message quickly went viral:

“Hey, wassup, you half-ni—er piece of s—t. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. I’ll s—t in your f—kin’ mouth. I’m gonna slap your f—kin’ mouth, I’m gonna slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F—k you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.”

The new report found that these types of statements were regularly made towards Martin in and outside of the locker room. The report contains transcripts of text messages exchanged between Martin and Incognito, as well as some damning messages sent by Incognito to other teammates, asking them to destroy evidence against him.

For example, the report details that Incognito kept tabs on his bullying in a notebook used by the offensive linemen where they would record various infractions and fines. After Martin left the team, Icognito entered himself as owing a $200 fine for “breaking Jmart” and reportedly wrote a number of infractions on Martin’s behalf, calling him a “pussy.” The report cites text messages written by Incognito that suggest he was conspiring to destroy the notebook before investigators could see it.

“The facts we uncovered do not support the view of Incognito and his teammates that this conduct was all good-natured fun among friends. Nevertheless, although Incognito, Jerry and Pouncey harassed Martin, we find that they did not intend to drive Martin from the team or cause him lasting emotional injury.”

The report details the escalation of the harassment. What began as run-of-the-mill hazing quickly intensified. First, with unrelenting derogatory comments aimed towards Martin’s sister. The report quote a text sent from Incognito to offensive linemen players that reads, “I flew jmarts [Martin] sister into Indy. My d–k is dry and needs some of her healing squirt juices.”

These types of crude remarks were frequent and quickly evolved into Incognito and his friends directing racial and homophobic slurs towards Martin, as well as other members of the Miami Dolphins organization.

The report cites this text from Incognito to Martin from January, 2013: “U f—king mulatto liberal b—h.” (Incognito later said he called Martin a ‘mulatto,’ a derogatory term for someone who is of mixed race, because Martin “doesn’t carry himself like a black guy.”)

The report states that Incognito, Jerry and Pouncey frequently called an assistant trainer born in Japan a “Jap” or “Chinaman” and even threatened him on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 2012. Furthermore, the report suggests that the trio also harassed another offensive lineman who wished to remain anonymous.

Perhaps most shocking is the revelation that offensive line coach, Jim Turner, himself participated in the bullying of the unnamed player. When Turner gave his players a female blow-up dolls as a gag gift for Christmas, he singled out the unnamed player and gave him a male blow-up doll. After Martin left the team and decided to focus on treating his depression, Coach Turner repeatedly sent him messages, urging him to recant his allegations of abuse.

Incognito’s texts to Pouncey after Martin left the team do not bode well for the player, who was suspended in November. Incognito reportedly expressed his anger at Martin to Pouncey, writing, “My agent just asked if we held mandatory strip club meetings Jmart is f–king ratting on everyone.” The language, of course, suggests that many of Martin’s allegations are true.

Miami Dolphins, NFL Comment On Report

Both the NFL and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross have released statements acknowledging the report, though both parties claim to not have had the time to thoroughly review it.

“Our office has received the report of independent counsel Ted Wells, which sets forth the findings of his investigation into the workplace environment at the Miami Dolphins. Consistent with our commitment at the outset of this matter, the full report has been transmitted to our clubs and has been made public. We appreciate the work of Ted Wells and his colleagues and the cooperation of the Miami Dolphins organization in the investigation. After we have had an opportunity to review the report, we will have further comment as appropriate,” said the NFL.

“We have just received the report from Ted Wells and will review it in detail before responding relative to the findings. When we asked the NFL to conduct this independent review, we felt it was important to take a step back and thoroughly research these serious allegations. As an organization, we are committed to a culture of team-first accountability and respect for one another,” said Ross.

Martin And Incognito Comment On Report

Martin recently spoke out for the first time since his highly publicized departure from the team in an interview with NBC, saying that he doesn’t blame Incognito directly, but the locker room culture that encouraged his bullying behavior.

“I’ve spoken to my former teammates in other locker rooms across the NFL and I asked them, does this stuff go on? Is this normal rookie hazing? The consensus was, this is not normal,” Martin said in the interview.

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Martin’s agent, Kenneth Zuckerman, released a statement on the report on Friday, saying, “He [Martin] feels a great sense of relief. Jonathan Martin is a great man and he’s only shown me that he is very honest since the day I met him. He loves football and is eager to get back on the field, regardless of what team he plays for.”

Icognito’s attorney, Mark Schamel, maintained Incognito’s innocence in the charges of being a bully and criticized the report for being “replete with errors."

“It is disappointing that Mr. Wells would have gotten it so wrong, but not surprising. The truth, as reported by the Dolphins players and as shown by the evidence, is that Jonathan Martin was never bullied by Richie Incognito or any member of the Dolphins Offensive line,” Schamel added.

Incognito recently went on a Twitter rampage against Martin beginning on Feb. 12, saying that Martin betrayed him with the allegations of bullying.

Incognito insists that he and Martin were best friends, and that he has been nothing but truthful throughout the entire investigation, writing, “I’m guilty of being a loyal friend and good teammate. I apologize for my poor language and rude remarks. I’ve never denied it.”

Incognito also tweeted a message to his female fans, apologizing for the crude language he used in the quotes released in the report, presumably especially those directed towards Martin’s sister.

In a particularly mean spirited tweet, Incognito alleges that Martin had expressed to him that he suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts, suggesting that this somehow negates any of his demeaning comments and any negative affects his taunting may have had on Martin and his mental health.

It should be noted that, while the report found that Incognito and some of his teammates were definitely guilty of harassment and behavior that were against the Miami Dolphins code of conduct, it also states that Wells does not believe that Incognito meant to cause Martin any psychological harm.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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