In the NFL's current culture, a player such as Richie Incognito has value.
That is evident in a report by the Sun Sentinel, which cited two anonymous sources as saying that Miami Dolphins coaches dispensed Incognito to toughen up offensive lineman Jonathan Martin after Martin missed a voluntary workout in the spring.
The sources also said that they thought Incognito went too far with those marching orders.
The Dolphins have suspended Incognito indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. Incognito is at the heart of a complaint Martin has made to the team and to the NFL that Incognito used bullying tactics and used racial epithets against Martin.
The Sun Sentinel added that the information the sources provided wasn't necessarily going to be part of the NFL's investigation into the Dolphins' locker-room culture. But perhaps the real question is why wouldn't that information become part of the investigation?
Martin, the team's second-round draft pick out of Stanford in 2012, left the team last week and is accusing the Dolphins of having an unsafe working environment.
The newspaper said that the sources revealed that the Dolphins coaches urged Incognito's involvement after Martin missed two days of the team's offseason training activities program. The coaching staff encouraged Incognito to make a call to Martin that would "get him into the fold."
The Sun Sentinel pointed out that OTA workouts are voluntary but that the prevailing NFL culture coerces coaches to "strong arm" team leaders and team captains into making sure the entire team attends OTAs.
The sources told the Sun Sentinel that Incognito was following orders but crossed the line.
"Richie is the type of guy where if he's on your team you love him," a teammate said. "If he's not on your team, you hate him. Every team needs a guy like that."
The Dolphins refused to comment to the Sun Sentinel about the investigation.
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
