The case of Jonathan Martin has been dominating the NFL headlines this week. Bullying has become a more serious issue in recent years, and the situation of Jonathan Martin represents a high profile case involving an athlete at the highest level. A person familiar with the situation says the NFL Players Association will investigate possible harassment of Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jonathan Martin by his teammate; according to the Associated Press.
UPDATE: Miami Dolphins suspend Richie Icognito for threatening Jonathan Martin; both in person and via text.
Now it appears that Icognito has made threats against Jonathan Martin that are racial in tone; thereby making it a potential hatecrime now. And that’s a much more serious charge. Incognito has been a trouble maker for awhile now, as he was kicked off the Nebraska football team.
The person said the union wants to determine whether Martin’s treatment by teammates contributed to his abrupt departure from the Dolphins. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday on condition of anonymity because the Dolphins have said little about the reasons for Martin’s absence.
The second-year pro from Stanford left the team Monday to receive help for emotional issues, and it’s unclear whether or when he’s expected back. The Dolphins are off this weekend, and the union plans to look into the matter next week.
This story was broken first by Steven Wine of the AP. The Miami Dolphins, who beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night football this week, have attributed the absence of Jonathan Martin to a non-football illness. Should Richie Icognito be dismissed from the team? Did Adam Schefter slander/libel Icognito like Schefter’s being accused of?
Fox Sports Jay Glazer reports on Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jonathan Martin leaving the team last week for reasons unrelated to football, bullying:
“Jonathan Martin texted and was in contact with some of his teammates last week saying, ‘I’m not going to be back for a few weeks.’ The Dolphins are going to end up this week putting him on the non-football injury list. They actually don’t know when he’s going to come back. They’re dealing with the situation today. When it initially happened in the cafeteria and he left the team some of his teammates including Richie Incognito and Danny Watkins went to his house to try and bring him back in. The only thing I can tell you is there’s a lot more to this story with Jonathan Martin personally than meets the eye.”
Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter reported new developments this morning about Miami Dolphins player Jonathan Martin …
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 world; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS