The former Dolphins offensive lineman who left the team after saying he was bullied by teammates will stand trial for threatening the teammate who was accused of leading the bullying. A judge ruled today that Jonathan Martin must stand trial for three felony charges for threatening Incognito and two former high school classmates, the New York Daily News reports. A fourth felony charge, for threatening former Dolphins teammate Mike Pouncey, was dropped because Pouncey said he did not take the threat seriously and did not want to press charges. The charges stem from a February 22 Instagram post in which Martin showed a picture of a shotgun and wrote, “When you’re a bully victim & a coward, your options are suicide, or revenge.” The post tagged Pouncey, Incognito and the two high school classmates. Police say Martin’s web search history showed he clicked on a story about Incognito just hours before he ordered a pump-action shotgun online. Martin abruptly left the Dolphins during the 2013 season, saying the way he had been treated had harmed his mental health. The NFL hired an independent investigator who found that Incognito, Pouncey and teammate John Jerry had harassed Martin.
That was a ****ing trainwreck. No question Incognito is a douche, but an NFL locker room is a unique work environment and thus the usual rules are a bit more lax. Martin had an NFL body, but he was not emotionally cut out to function in that world.
At first, I was thinking good for Pouncey not pressing charges. Be a man about it. But then I saw the line about the shotgun and that changes everything. Holy ****, that's getting into scary territory! Mental issues or not, he needs to be locked up....I'm glad Cogs and others wanted to prosecute.
Same. I'm sitting here thinking "Wow...charges really? Come on guys" Then you actually read what Martin did and it's like...woah...damn.
This is a tricky one. On the one hand, I don't know that criminal charges are the best fit. On other hand, if that's the only way to get him the help he needs then it needs to be done. Does anyone know if there are/were other legitimate options for getting him help without him being criminally charged?
In short, no. His family does have some wealth so he can receive great private care long term, but it won't do a thing for him if he doesn't want help (and nobody ever does because they just want to be themselves). I'm not going to go into details in the mains, but I went thru this with a relative for several years and it's amazing how broken mental health laws are in the US. The goal is to stabilize...not treat. The meds are powerful and they make your mind feel cloudy, plus there's tons of side effects. For most, it's easier to just be crazy and it's sad. The guy legitimately needs help and he won't find it without committing long term (which he won't do). And if he does go to jail, there's no treatment there either. I had a long discussion about this a few years back in the lounge if anyone's interested in a first person account. Here's the link.
The only thing that surprised me about this post was that Martin left almost 6 years ago. It seems like yesterday all this crap happened. lol
Just a small reminder of what pieces of **** Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey are. They are both psychopaths. Full Article
I think the criminal charges are nothing to do with the NFL component and everything to do with tagging his old HS. After Parkland anyone who threatens a school is going to be made an example of, and a former NFL players gives the system a high profile case they can demonstrate how serious they are about seeming to care for HS kids. In my old career I had 4 different times when people with guns repeatedly and seriously said they were looking for me. So from what I have read about what was Martin saying and doing is at the very lowest end of the scale of this type of thing. Shotguns are for intimidation, serious shooters go for hand guns or high powered rifles. I do think Pouncey’s reaction was the correct response (and that’s probably the first time I have ever said that).
I think the fact he actually bought a gun after saying it makes it 1000x worse. Normally I believe words and threats are just anger, but he actually took a step beyond just some tough guy talk.
The type of gun he bought, a shotgun, is not the type of gun someone who was serious about causing mass mayhem would buy. To me it seems more about wanting to intimidate rather than intent to shoot up a place. Having said that buying the gun does make it exponentially worse.
Well, actually, a shotgun is the first gun I would buy if my intention was to kill people and I had little training. What Martin did was serious. And I think if given the time and opportunity he would have tried to kill someone.
My experience, of the 2 that went and bought guns (the other 2 already had guns, all hunting rifles iirc), was they bought high powered long rifles. 1 of the 2 that bought guns already owned a shotgun. Small sample sizes and all that, but high powered rifles and handguns is where people who are serious about killing people look first. At least in my neck of the woods. I’m in no way saying shotguns cannot be lethal and cannot be used in mass shootings or targeted killings, but they are usually seen as less lethal than other options. However it does also depend in California’s gun laws. I also agree intervention was necessary. In a different time it probably would have been the local Police Sergeant having a serious talk with him and taking away of the shotgun.
I think it depends on the shooter's mentality though. If you're going for mass effect, semi-auto long guns are the choice. In closed corridors, pistols make sense. But when you hold a grudge against someone for years then it's personal and the attack is going to be up close....pistol, knife or shotgun. That's what history shows anyway. For me, it was a lot scarier that he bought a shotgun given the circumstances. He's a coward that does't want to fight, won't stand up to anyone.....that feels like the weapon of choice here to make sure he doesn't miss.
Which is where his local gun laws become relevant. If where he is handguns are difficult to acquire then acquiring a shotgun logically becomes much more serious than if he lived in a region with more relaxed rules.
In South Carolina, I can still walk into a pawn shop or sporting goods store and leave with a pistol in 30 minutes...no permit, no nothing. It still amazes me since it should not be that easy anywhere. They just call in a background check and off you go.
Ehhh a shotgun is plenty good enough if you just want to shoot a couple specific people. I mean I agree obviously it isn't a weapon a person would use with carnage in mind but I still wouldn't want to be shot with one.