I know you still need more coverage of Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito. Luckily for you, I have that here. Because you need to hear more about it. Jonathan Martin has now lasted about 10 days in the news cycle which is really something (let’s forget about that super-typhoon in the Phillipines that killed over 10,000 people, we need to focus on Jonathan Martin and Incognito). Because collectively, we have the attention span of a brain dead gnat. Nothing holds our attention for 5 days, let alone 10.
Here’s the NBC Sunday Night Football crew on Jonathan Martin etc:
Florio: “In his interview, Incognito said that in the week before Martin left the Dolphins, Martin texted to Incognito, ‘I will kill your whole effing family.’ Incognito also said that he did not take that seriously. Since that interview aired, David Cornwell, who represents Jonathan Martin, provided some additional context. The actual text message, which was not a message that was typed by Jonathan Martin, was a photo [which was shown on air] with the message as a caption, which was then forwarded to Incognito, by Jonathan Martin.”
King: “Roger Goodell has given independent investigator, Ted Wells, all the time he needs to get this report done and to shine a light on the Miami Dolphins. But I’m told it should probably take about three or four weeks. The big factor in the Wells report is that Roger Goodell is going to make it totally public. All facts will be known to the general public. The NFL feels like, if you’re going to shine a light on this, you’ve got to be completely transparent.”
Florio: “As to the suspension of Richie Incognito, I’m told that it is indefinite. But under the labor agreement, the maximum he can be suspended is four weeks. That means as of December 1, after the Dolphins play the Jets, the Dolphins either have to bring Incognito back or cut him.”
King: “Will Richie Incognito be so radioactive that no one will give him a job? I’m told that there is at least one team, a contending team, that will be interested in Incognito’s services… if he becomes a free agent down the stretch.”
Florio: “As to Jonathan Martin, it looks unlikely that he will play for the Dolphins or anyone else this year. It will be after the current season that we’ll know whether or not Jonathan Martin returns to Miami, or ends up playing for someone else.”
Ward: “It’s an unfortunate situation. Being biracial myself, I understand Jonathan Martin, because I had to deal with some of those same issues growing up. As a child, I was bullied and discriminated against because I was of mixed race. I heard some of the guys throughout the league say that Jonathan Martin should be a man and fight back. But for me it takes a bigger man to walk away from the situation. I don’t know about you Cris, but in the locker room we don’t play with the N word. When a guy calls another man of the opposite race the N word, there are no more games being played.”
Collinsworth: “I’ll say this. I’ve heard the word. I’ve never heard it coming from a white player to a black player, or a white player to a white player. It is a given, using that word is a no-no.”
Collinsworth: “This story is still unraveling. To me, there is something missing. This doesn’t happen in the NFL without some missing piece of this puzzle, and I’ve heard a lot of guesses as to what that missing piece may be. I don’t think anyone should speculate. We need to let the investigation take place, and we’ll go from there.”
Harrison: “When I heard the story, the first thing I thought about was the lack of leadership in the Miami Dolphins locker room…. In a locker room, the leaders try to keep everything in-house. They don’t allow issues to get out to the media. They don’t even allow items to get to the head coach. And when something escalates, when the situation escalates, you try to diffuse the situation by communicating to both parties. If that does not work, then you go to the head coach and you let him handle the situation.”
Dungy: “Player leadership is so important. People are asking me, how Joe Philbin could not know what was going on in that locker room? Well, as a head coach, you don’t know everything. My job was to set the atmosphere up, and I counted on my leaders. So, if I said no hazing in the locker room, then it was up to Derrick Brooks, Jeff Saturday, Reggie Wayne, and those types of guys to control it. If there was a problem, then they would come to me. If they were not saying anything, then I assumed that everything was fine.”
Pioli: “When you have stable leadership in your locker room, it’s a lot easier to consider or even bring in a player that has a checkered past, or has historical problems. When you have a guy like Rodney (Harrison) in the locker room, you can certainly bring in a Corey Dillon or bring in a Randy Moss. However, if the player in your locker room is a player with a past like Richie Incognito, and that’s the loudest voice with the greatest presence in your locker room, there is a chance it can crash and burn.”
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Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS