Incognito fights back on bullying charges

I guess we just have to see what's in Ted Wells report.

 

You guys are confused.

The texts we just read that were posted by the media were released BY INCOGNITO'S LAWYER directly to the MEDIA.

We did not just secretly read stuff turned up by Ted Wells during his investigation. Richie Incognito was not FORCED into anything.

 

I agree that Pouncey is the only talent-worthy OL we have, but he's got his own issues now... First there is the questioning by police in the Hernandez and gun-running thing and now the implications by the texts that he is in on a bit more of drug stuff than the NFL allows... How that plays out will determine if he stays... At this point, unless something significant comes out of the Wells investigation (which the indications are that there are no major issues), then yeah, you can anchor the soon-to-be rebuilt OL with Pouncey, either at C or G...but we still have to wait and see....it's expected to be out this Thursday...??

 

my point is, maybe Incognitos lawyer knows it's in the Ted Wells report that's going to be public, so he's doing damage control releasing it early? If not, it seems like he's a pretty ****ty lawyer

 

The Wells report findings will be made public. The evidence they collected will not necessarily be made public, especially private text conversations like this one.

This was Incognito's lawyer fighting back after Martin went on television and levied more claims about things Incognito said to him.

 

He loves Miami because he may ONLY be able to get a job here now that this stuff is out... In some ways you gotta feel for him, but he's made his bed. There is no way that Ross allows him back here...it just ain't gonna happen...and if the stories we're hearing about Hickey are right, then he's gone already...

 

I agree that Richie didn't do his teammates any favors in releasing all of those texts and its odd because those same teammates seemed to be in his corner so there was no reason to lash out at them.

I don't agree that Martin was backed into a corner. In fact I think Martin would of had a better chance of finding a new team had he simply taken a leave for a non-football related illness and kept the whole thing quiet.

 

If they were part of the Wells report then wouldn't the NFL have access to them? By releasing them to the media, it may force the NFL to take action but something tells me Goodell doesn't need encouragement to act.

 

I disagree with that specifically because he left the team DURING the season, and he was sucking and had been demoted back to right tackle on top of everything. Quite frankly I think there was a possibility he never even would have been invited to another training camp. He got moved from left tackle to right tackle, performed poorly during that first game back at right tackle, left the team because of this mental breakdown which meant Clabo was going to get elevated above him...and he likely never would have reclaimed the job. Then during the off season the Dolphins likely would have released him.

I think NFL teams are aware that sometimes players have mental issues and they are forgiving of those issues as long as players are able to control them during the season. But when you quit the team during the season, there's a very strong stigma in the NFL about that. That's not something they forgive easily, especially if you're a guy that's put out a season and a half of awful tape.

 

It's hard to tell exactly what Incognito's motivations were aside from the superficial revenge factor.

What we do know is that Incognito's lawyer released these texts to the media. They were not leaked to the media from the Wells report. Nor were these texts ever likely to see the light of day simply as a result of the release of the Wells report. This was a targeted release by Incognito and his lawyer.

Bottom line is Incognito just smeared mud all over several teammates for his own selfish reasons.

 

Martin did more damage to his future NFL playing career by choosing the bullying path then just quitting. I'm not even sure how that is debatable.

 

Where did you read/hear that they were released by Incognito's lawyer directly to the media? The Big Lead article that published them says "Through a league source, The Big Lead has obtained the full transcript of over 1,000 text messages Incognito and Martin swapped between October 2012 and November 2013." It goes on to say "Neither Martin’s lawyer, Incognito’s lawyer or Incognito’s agent returned calls Monday seeking comment." Typically the party that releases info to the media makes itself available for comment. If you are trying to frame the narrative or get a point across, you don't just dump 1000 e-mails on the media and leave them to their own devices to frame the story. "League source" is pretty vague, but in a situation like this Incognito's lawyer or agent would not typically be referred to as a "league source."

 

The only way to clear your public image is through the public. If the Wells report just says Richie is cleared, it leaves doubt in the public mind.

 

I'm not saying he would of had a good chance of rebuilding his career, only that now on top of everything you mentioned a team is going to have to deal with the media circus that signing Martin will create. If he truly wanted to continue his football career, then pushing this bullying angle hurt his cause. Which means that either a) he got really bad advice from his agent/lawyer/parents b) he realized his NFL career was over as soon as he walked out the door and wanted to milk every last dollar that he could via a lawsuit or c) he is in denial about his playing abilities and needs a scapegoat for his lack of success.

 

I'm not sure it really did considering he's got do-gooders like Tony Dungy in his corner. Dungy orchestrated Michael Vick's re-entry into the NFL. The other thing to consider is the fact that doing this may have given Martin legal recourses which could substitute for a playing career.

If he'd just left well enough alone I'm not sure anyone would have touched him again. A disappointing 2nd round pick that turns out to be a headcase that abandons his team in the middle of a playoff run? At least Barrett Robbins was actually a Pro Bowl quality player.

 

you dodged the question about where you heard this was from incognitos lawyer. It was a good question, especially since no lawyers were available for comment. If you have a different source telling you otherwise, that's cool, just wondering where you got that info, especially since the article specifies his lawyer as unavailable for comment.

 

Gotcha. Not sure I agreed, but I understand.


Stupid to leave in the stuff about other teammates.

 

I didn't "dodge" anything. This is the first I'm hearing the question. It's possible that someone I have on ignore may have asked the question, then I wouldn't see it.

This story (which came out before TheBigLead actually posted the texts in their entirety) made it explicitly clear that Incognito (through his lawyer) furnished the full body of texts to CBS4 for their perusal.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/01/3...-drugs-in-text-messages/#.UuvI37TfqHY.twitter

So yes. Richie Incognito's lawyer absolutely is responsible for releasing the full body of texts to the press. It was explicitly stated.

 

Either way, Martin's camp cherry-picked texts to make something that wasn't true look true: that Incognito was a jackass bully that treated Martin like ****.

Incognito's, while crappy, at least show a sad, hard truth...

Incognito didn't do anything wrong to be in this situation... Everyone else that was "thrown under the bus" apparently have... ...and basically have both Martin and Incognito corroborating the facts.

 

So Richie Incognito admitting to paying prostitutes for sex is not wrong, while smoking marijuana is?

I agree with you that Martin's texts were selected and offered free of context in order to bolster his case. No doubt about that. I'd call that pretty unscrupulous. But at least he kept his other teammates' private lives out of it and tried to stick specifically toward how teammates treated him specifically since that was the relevant subject matter.

Richie Incognito and his lawyer just blindly released everything and in doing so dragged teammates' names through the mud. You don't think a straight-laced, no-nonsense guy like Philbin is going to look at guys like Will Yeatman and Mike Pouncey differently knowing that the text messages basically confirmed they smoke marijuana? Do you expect Will Yeatman to be on the 53-man roster next year? I don't. I truly don't.

 

So now you're upset about him throwing himself under the bus? He put himself in that position.

Besides that, in much of Nevada, prostitution is legal. No telling where this party was...

 

This whole situation makes this article on Incognito extremely funny
http://www.nfl.com/incognito

 

What I was going after is your assertion that the teammates that Richie threw under the bus did wrong things and all Incognito's release of texts did was corroborate them. Implied is you think they deserve to be outed like that.

And by the way, you should know...in Colorado smoking marijuana is legal. And the prostitution texts were NOT contained simply to the Vegas trip. He talks explicitly about frequenting prostitutes at Tootsie's. Even says explicitly how much he pays for it ($700).

You said Incognito did nothing wrong but the other teammates did. That means you think smoking marijuana is wrong but prostitution is not.

 

Pro Football Focus has a league source telling them that Incognito and his lawyer took out some of the texts between he and Jonathan Martin in the batch that were released to TheBigLead.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...cognito-texts-are-just-a-piece-of-the-puzzle/

My question is if you're going edit them anyway why not take out the ones that implicate your teammates? Scummy move overall to release the texts. Two wrongs don't make a right.

 

So Martin's move was worse because he only shot Incognito while Incognito just prayed and sprayed?

 

Yes.

 

Sorry, I cannot agree with you. I also think your position is silly.

If you walked up and punched me in the face, why would it be better of me to punch you back and your entire family?

 

I said Incognito did nothing wrong to be in the situation of defending himself from bullying charges. I never said he's a saint. Sorry if my wording wasn't as clear as I had hoped...

My point is Martin's team made baseless claims against Incognito, ie bullying. Richie's done enough to get himself into trouble by himself.

Anyone that is now in trouble due to the truth coming out, shouldn't have been in that position ever, anyway.

They've got no one to blame but themselves.

If you want to stay out of trouble if the truth comes out, don't do anything that could get you in trouble. Simple philosophy, honestly.

 

Well, I think your analogy is poor. Martin, w/out warning, attacked Richie while at the same time pretending to be his friend. It is a betrayal. I agree that Richie should have deleted his teammates, but he was blind sided by Martin. He thought they were friends. Martin treated him like a friend right up until the last minute.

 

So if my boss belittled me unnecessarily in front of the office and I came home and punched my wife in the face, the latter is not nearly as bad an offense as what my boss did?

 

This whole situation is just an absolute joke. Both players just come off as selfish - glad they are gone.

 

True, however the texts came out today. Not right after the event.

You are right, my analogy was poor. It is like you punched me in the face and then I waited a few months, and right before the police report was about to come out, punched you, your wife and your family in the face.

 

So, Richie eats a lot, Martin can't remember his schedule ever, both love sexing the women, and both keep Social in business.

That is what I have learned.

 

Drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, etc are the rule, not the exception with NFL players, especially the younger, unmarried types, and ESPECIALLY the younger, unmarried types that live and play in Miami. You could say that Cogs is diming out teammates and to some extent it's true, but it's like a woman admitting that her and her friends like expensive cars, expensive wine, and that yes, size matters, well...

DUH.

 

I'm just not sure that can be the norm on a championship football team..

I think the goal is, in order to win it all, you have to have as less anxiety and partying as possible..

 

Be honest... She was asking for it, amirite?



Seriously, it's very strange to see some names redacted (and apparently removed from the document completely) and some names on full display, w/ very 'sensitive' topics attached. It's strange that Incognito would throw people under the bus in that way given his band of brothers mentality/schtick. There are no winners, only losers at this point.

 

Here we go with the self-righteousness. Im sure very few of you have been in their shoes, yet you criticize. LOL! You think the Dolphins are the only team that employs players who party hard? Pleeeeaseee, get a grip! Ritchie did what he had to do to clear his name. Unfortunately, that meant callin out his team mates......BUT THEYVE BEEN TELLING US FOR MONTHS MARTIN IS A LYING PSSYBTCH.
Im not sure what the huge deal is...whats the scoop? These texts just confirm what I've suspected all along; NFL players have fun, and some "men" dont belong in a locker room.
I think some of you need a new favorite sport. Try dodgeball.

 

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Those who don't have an issue with what Incognito did - you would be OK if one of your "friends" released a statement that implicated you and smeared your name just so your "friend" could cover their ***?

There was a better way for Richie to go about this. One where he could exonerate himself and not publicly release information bringing other teammates into the situation.