Posted on 11/07/2013 9:24:26 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
To hear Richie Incognito’s teammates describe him, the embattled Dolphins offensive lineman accused of violent, racist bullying is actually a GD prince.
Following the release of voicemails containing racially-charged language that he left teammate Jonathan Martin before Martin walked off the team, Incognito has been suspended by the Dolphins, hounded nonstop by reporters and made a poster man-child for ogreish intolerance in all its forms. But other players — even those on different teams — are coming forward not only to condemn Martin’s actions, but to defend Incognito’s.
Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill told reporters yesterday, “If you asked Jonathan Martin who his best friend is on this team two weeks ago, he’d say Richie Incognito… It’s tough for us to sit here and hear all that.”
Wide receiver Brian Hartline chimed about Martin, “If I’m not mistaken, this is the same guy that was laughing about this voicemail at one point in time.”
Former offensive line mate Lydon Murtha said in an op-ed today, “Richie has been more kind to Martin than any other player.”
Fine, Incognito’s white teammates are behind him. But what about the attitudes of black players, who comprise at least 65 percent of the NFL?
“I don’t have a problem with Richie,” said wide receiver Mike Wallace, who’s black. “I love Richie.”
“Richie Incognito isn’t a racist,” said tight end Michael Egnew, also black.
“We joke with each other. You can’t have thin skin around here,” said Dolphins defensive tackle Randy Starks. “We’re trying to clear Richie’s name. He’s getting a bad rap.” Black.
Turns out, context matters. It’s why Greg Giraldo could get away with comparing Warren Sapp to a giant ape and how Louis CK can acceptably call an audience member a faggot. The use of offensive language doesn’t, in and of itself, necessarily constitute offensiveness.
So why is this language OK on a Comedy Central roast, but not in a locker room?
If, during an interview with a magazine that’s profiling you, you liken taking New York’s 7 train to “riding through Beirut next to… some queer with AIDS,” the way former Braves pitcher John Rocker did in a comment to Sports Illustrated in 1999, you might be a homophobe.
And if you’re caught candidly on video exclaiming, “I will jump that fence and fight every nigger here,” as Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper did at a concert last summer, you might be a racist.
But if you drop the N bomb in a locker room packed with hormonal, post-graduate 300-pound rage whales who spend 27 hours a day bonding under the most grueling physical punishment imaginable, you might be a team leader. It’s a characterization that many players — white and black — have used to describe Incognito, demonstrating that the community standards forged in competitive athletics don’t apply elsewhere, just as the cautious diplomacy of a Planned Parenthood summit has no place in a training room.
As the co-optation of harsh language and symbols robs them of their power to oppress — the way it does with the use of the N word by some in the black community and the dizzying adoption of the rebel flag by Kanye West — otherwise divisive words and emblems can be expropriated to break down barriers between members of a community. It’s unity by shared dehumanization that appears understandably bizarre to the uninitiated.
But it requires all within that community to be on board, something that obviously could not be said for Jonathan Martin. Those who’ve beheld the cinematic triumph that is The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift are familiar with the Japanese proverb “The protruding nail will get hammered down,” which refers to those unwilling to follow the rules of a society. While it doesn’t seem like context should matter as it regards use of the N word, NFL teams are their own communities with their own standards.
Rocker and Riley looked awfully lonely throughout their respective controversies because no one publicly stands up in support of bigots unless they already have an endorsement deal with Paula Deen. There’s no mistaking the angry, kneejerk ravings of an intolerant a-hole, but it doesn’t look like that’s what Incognito’s comments represent. If you’ve never made a terrible comment to a friend in jest your entire life, you might be tied for the most boring person on earth.
That’s not to say that Incognito isn’t probably a dipsh*t. But he doesn’t deserve the lifelong branding of a bigot that he’s destined to carry as a result of this story.
Former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams was asked to weigh in and his answer, while not the most profound of prose, encapsulates the issue — and how it should have been handled — perfectly.
“If someone sent me those messages, I would send a text back and call him a redneck and put ‘LOL.’”
Ah, go on and treat yourself, Ricky. Splurge on “cracker-ass cracker.”
I’ve read stories that Incognito was given the task, as a team leader, to toughen the guy up by the coaching staff. If that’s the case they just tossed him under the bus to save their own a##....
One theory I heard was that Martin is resented by the thugs for being intelligent and educated.
In any case, the word on the street is that as yet unnamed (it’s “incognito”) Las Vegas night club has gotten itself a new bouncer.
There is no doubt Icognito is a grade A jerk, going back to his college days.
That idiot Goodell jumped the gun by prematurely hiring the black attorney to investigate. Now this will take on a life of its own and Incognito will the the sacrificial lamb to PC.
How in the world did he get voted the second dirtiest player in the NFL?
http://nypost.com/2013/11/05/how-richie-incognito-became-nfls-no-1-villain/
MEMO TO THUG FANS: The thug without a name (he’s incognito) was on the “DNDC” chit list (”Do not draft because of character”) of other teams.
“...just as the cautious diplomacy of a Planned Parenthood summit ...”
WHAAAA?
2ndD I love you to pieces, but you forgot the barf alert on this one!
I could go on and on, but really, i’m sick of two words right now, bullying and racism. just friggin sick of it.
PC in the NFL. Flag football here we come. With cheerleaders compliments of “ The Longest Yard”
More likely Martin will never play again, unless there’s a WNFL some day.....
Somehow, i think that JJ and a shakedown lawsuit against the NFL will be constructed. A few years ago, some hockey player was charged criminally with being unnecessarily rough. The player who was whinging, was coincidentally, their first black player. Odd that there was no history of such charges before..
Who’s the bigger bully, Incognito or Obama?
I hear you, and to add to your short list, how about
gay marriage and abortion...oh, and birth control
Dear Lord can we turn the page on this horrid chapter in nations history?!
Then there’s always Arena Football. No one gets paid chit and everyone sucks!
However, extorting $15,000 from someone goes beyond bullying. That's crime. In most work places an implied threat by a co-worker is easily handled, but when you have a 300-LB guy in a line blocking next to you and he "accidentally" falls on your knee, it's career-ending. I think the POLICE , not the league, should be investigating the extortion charge.
The reports now are that Martin was paying for his portion of the trip to Las Vegas. All prepaid. At the last minute he decided not to go. That is not extortion. This story is doing a slow play. Bits and pieces coming out by the day. The media has created this circus and as we all know, the media is not to be trusted. Let’s wait for the whole story because each story that comes out knocks down their reporting from the day prior.
Incognito won’t be the only one leaving the Dolphins.
Joe Philibin has never come out in public saying he knew nothing about
the hazing. He has had numerous chances to do so.
There is a report that he says he knew nothing. But a report is not the
same as a public statement. Philibin will be a goner soon.
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