Richie Incognito Suspended Following Alleged Bullying Of Teammate Jonathan Martin

Richie Incognito, the starting guard for the Miami Dolphins, has been suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the football franchise involving tackle Jonathan Martin.

Incognito’s suspension was announced Sunday evening after the Dolphins had refuted reports that the guard had been bullying the team’s other players. Martin, two years out from playing college football at Stanford, left the team last week. Martin’s agents asked the Dolphins to look into Incognito’s behavior.

In their statement on Sunday night, the Dolphins revealed that they were doing as asked and having the NFL investigate the allegations. “We believe in maintaining a culture of respect for one another, and as a result, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the organization at this time,” the Dolphins said in a statement. “As we noted earlier, we reached out to the NFL to conduct an objective and thorough review. We will continue to work with the league on this matter.”

Martin’s departure from the team began with a report that he’d be out for a non-football-related illness for Thursday’s game. It was later altered to state that he was simply out. However, Martin left the team following an alleged bullying incident in the cafeteria that involved Incognito and other team members, reported Fox Sports.

The cafeteria incident may have been the last straw for Martin, who also may have been extorted by his teammate. Incognito allegedly made Martin pay $15,000 towards a team trip, of which Martin had no intention of participating in, according to ESPN. Text messages and voicemails left for Martin by Incognito are said to have been of an intimidating nature – some of them may also have been racially charged, as the following voice message transcript.

Since his suspension and the accompanying reports have been made public, Incognito has taken to Twitter to defend himself against the allegations.
It’s uncertain when and if Incognito, who has a history of bad behavior from his time in the NFL and in college, will return to the Dolphins. It’s similarly uncertain whether or not Martin has plans to return to the Miami team.

– Chelsea Regan

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