LeBatard's point about how people see this is spot on. There is a disconnect (even on here) between what goes on in that world and the more normal world. http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/16/3940210/dan-le-batard-understanding-dolphins.html There is a disconnect here for media and fans who scream like crazy and high five each other over big, animalistic hits, and then lament that these guys aren't very professional 'at the office', acting like we would expect our white-collar offices to behave.
Richie crossed lines and boundaries in life, even if it it a barbaric sport..over and over..Sounds to me like the sport itself and the barbaric participation shouldn't be blamed, sounds like the men inside should be judged for their lack of maturity, lack of ability to lead in a different way then they displayed, and simply just be more sensitive to others issues.
The real problem is that we had no one in the locker room who had the respect or the courage to step forward and put a stop to the nonsense even if Martin couldn't. The notion that nobody knew anything was wrong is a complete crock, given the report. Even the d-line knew Martin was having a tough time and one of them encouraged Martin to join their crew and get away from Incognito. While that is certainly a nice gesture, and shows a high charachter, what the locker room really needed was for that unnamed d-lineman to stand up and tell Richie/Pouncey and Jerry to cut the nonsense and then have others back him up. None of that happened. Instead, the only players who spoke publically all supported Richie and none of the dissenters (and from the report it is clear there was several) said anything.
I like lebatard most of the time, but I disagree with him on this, just because it is a barbaric sport doesn't mean they can't be all the things that people who don't play the sport have, compassion being the main one..
I take exception to Lebatard's article. It's a load of horse crap in my opinion. The sport is not savage or barbaric. Save those superlatives for the military. They are entertainers playing a freaking GAME! How's that for perspective?! The discontent imo are fans putting the NFL and their players on a pedestal and excuse their transgressions like their sh!t don't skink. They're not from another world. There is no excuse for these people to act like neanderthals. They are not above the law. Everything from systematic bullying to racial slurs on a trainer is not excusable. Is the game physical? Sure...what's that got to do treating another human being with decency. My problem was that no one tried to right a wrong because of either repercussions or they have all been bullies in the past themselves or they simply stood by the guy who is still on the team. Either way that's sad. I wonder now for the punishment...fines, suspensions etc. If it were up to me I would not sign anyone back except may be McKinnie and Clabo as backups as they are getting older and slower. I would trade Pouncey for whatever I could get. If this franchise wants to be best in class as Ross keeps stating, then Pouncey doesn't belong. I don't want fools like that representing this team.
The thing is, everyone is taking stuff that was intended in a much more light-hearted fashion (like the blow up doll incident) way too seriously. As Wells did. But the player himself involved did not take it that way. As Bryant McKinney said: That's why the over-reactive anger from fans on here and media elsewhere is simply misguided, in my view.
I disagree with so much of this. Whether its right or wrong is not the point. The point is we are being punished for a culture that is not unique to us. Every team is like this across multiple leagues and pro levels. (Also, every major restaurant is like this to, btw.) The NFL in particular has cultivated this behavior for decades. We are no more or less guilty of things that every other team is and has been guilty of. Rex Ryan plans and orders a code red on a weak player, it is then carried out, and no one says anything. You cannot tell me that an environment where that happens is not only common place but good coaching, is like the rest of the world. It isn't. Every last fan has allowed this culture to grow. Every time you cheer or buy merchandise you are putting a stamp of approval on this behavior. It is hypocritical to sit back now and blast the Dolphins for behavior you've helped cultivate.
I think a few important things that Ted Wells specifically demonstrated that does actually affect the validity of the "bullying" claim include: A) the fact that the players knew they were giving it harder to some players than others, and B) the fact that they even had a sense that they were going too hard after some of them. That's where you cross the line from locker room hijinx to something unprofessional, unproductive and yes something that should potentially be punishable. This is even taking aside some of the specific things that guys like John Jerry and Mike Pouncey were found to have done. The fact that a player couldn't take it anymore AND never stuck up for himself...doesn't detract from the inappropriateness of the conduct. Yes it does suggest that this player is not fit for football. But again, it doesn't detract from the inappropriate behavior. The environment that produced those antics needs to be killed with fire. They need to salt the earth and build a church over it.
Punished? Sure. Acting as if this is the biggest black eye that ever happened? No. The environment that produced this is the ENTIRE NFL.
demeaning a man who is not capable of handling it is wrong, no one sticking up for the guy who was completely insecure and emotionally unstable is wrong. The first thing they did was wrong... Labeling a rookie "big weirdo" is not appropriate..The term "weirdo" could make someone like Martin think lowly of himself, think about the pain in that dudes eyes just in hard knocks episodes, the fake smile was evident, I saw it, I don't like the term, I thought it crossed the line right there, and I didn't like the guys game when we drafted him. Clearly the voice messages, some of the texts were just overboard, the gestures in public, not one person seeing Martin struggling with it is just folks turning a blind eye, and not caring enough.
If the nickname "big weirdo" was the extent of the hazing, I could care less. While that's inappropriate in my work environment, I think that's probably pretty below average in the NFL. Incognito went overboard because of his personality and a staff that wasn't really willing to put the energy into what they perceived as a 2nd or 3rd tier player. That second part is very commonplace to every work environment. Incognito got busted going over the line past NFL norms wrt hazing and bullying. You get caught, you should get punished. In this case kicked off the team. On the flip side, it's hard for me to feel sorry for Martin. (1) He didn't do what it takes to make himself better. Given all the crap he did outside of the facility, he obviously wasn't dedicated to going from 2nd/3rd tier to first tier. Given that, I can see why his coaches gave up on him. (2) he doesn't have to play in the NFL. He's a pretty smart kid with likely some decent connections to land a job outside the NFL.
" weirdo" has a different connotation to it.. I get that there's worse around the league, but it's where it started and you could see it didn't go over well with Martin.you could see the fear..how come they didn't.. Your right that Martin should of worked harder and partied less, but peer pressure was evident, and escaping thru alcohol and drugs is the norm.
you're making excuses for Martin, but not for his colleagues. We expect them to be professional, the same standard is applied to him. It's not like Martin was really good like Jake Long from the start. He sucked and did very little to improve himself. And he's not some meathead idiot. He's intelligent with some self-awareness. He should have been dedicating himself to his art and ignoring some of the peer pressure (granted you can't ignore it all the time).
This issue is very simple: people don't like cheering for bad guys, even if they are common. We like being ignorant of the inner workings of the system so that it doesn't destroy the illusion. Perhaps most locker rooms are like the dolphins but what makes us different is now we've spoiled the illusion. We don't like cheering for bad people even if they are part of the sports status quo. Once we find out they're not kind and noble we stop caring about their performance. Tl;Dr Fans don't like cheering for jerks
yes, if the illusion is not winning. if we had talent were a winning frnchise this really wouldn't be the issue it is now. the Dolphins are down and have been for a while now. easy to kick them while down. change the losing atmosphere to a winning one and this all becomes no big deal.
The illusion is that the people we cheer for are worthy of our cheering. It is a very common issue within sports that greatly impacts a fan's attitude toward a player, or even an entire team. Its in our nature to want the good guy to win, and the bad guy to lose. So, when scandals like this happen, the curtain is pulled back and we realize there are bad guys mixed in everywhere, and that destroys the illusion that our players deserve our support, instead of receiving it just because they are on our favorite team. A prime example of this, for me at least, is Michael Jordan. Growing up, though I wasn't a huge NBA fan as a kid, MJ transcended basketball and was a hero. He was very purposely portrayed as the good guy, the righteous champion, the chosen one. And I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker...until I was older and I realized that MJ is a great player, but a pretty terrible human being. That completely shattered the illusion, and although it didn't change his stats it changed my perception of him. He was no longer a hero. He became a jerk who happens to be a great athlete. The same thing is happened to the Dolphins right now. We want to believe the aqua and orange represents something good, but we're being reminded that our players are no more noble, or worthy, than any other team's players...and it stings.
So the wrongs shouldn't be punished according to you because...oh everyone else (speculation) doesn't it. lol Fans helped cultivate the lockeroom behaviour???? LOLOLOL you make me laugh
Here's the problem I see. Martin dished it out right back at them (forget what was in his mind - they could not read that). In their eyes, he's not having a problem with it. Suppose Martin really Didn't have a problem with it? Suppose Martin had been raised in a street culture that accepted this kind of thing (as a lot of NFL players have been raised)? Suppose all the stuff went down as it did relative to Martin but it never surfaced because he actually was good friends with Incognito and he matured and toughened up a bit and played better? How would anyone of those players or coaches think that Martin had been abused? I agree with CK that when those players admitted they stepped over the line a bit - that should not have happened. And, I agree changes need to be made. But we are ignoring that the players could not have really known this was consistently excessive bullying (other than isolated incidents - and I suspect players on every team could say, "Yeah, we went too far on that one" - who hasn't done that in multiple areas of life?). And, second, we are ignoring the realities of the street / rap culture that these have come out of and that has entered into the NFL culture (have you listened to some of the lyrics of rap music? I'm a fan of the music but some of the lyrics make Cogs-Martin texts look tame). And it has entered often with a blind eye turned to it by the NFL, the Media, and fans.
Lets not make this any more difficult then it is, Cognito lead thru bullying on some level, and should pay the price he is right now..I'm really disappointed in the rest of the team for not seeing how a weak individual couldn't take it, regardless if he was trying to hang. What I'm starting to think about is malicious intent, I don't believe Cognito was trying to be mean, so casting him out of the NFL forever is sad, I think he is someone who could learn from this and become a better person, but it's getting a bit sad to think he may never play again for being stupid and immature.
