Barry LeBrock
As the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin story broke last week, many speculated that the original report was just the tip of the iceberg. They were right. Now a week later, after an almost constant flow of new information, it's clear; this is one hell of an iceberg. Yes, a lot more has surfaced already, but it's quite conceivable we might still be looking at just the tip.
This story reminds me of one of those hour-long made-for-TV courtroom dramas. In one segment, it's obvious the brutal animal in the bad suit did indeed commit the heinous crimes of which he's been accused. The next segment... not so much. New evidence is revealed, the pendulum swings and all the exclamation points become question marks.
Early on, Incognito was portrayed as a racist bully who appeared to be on his way out of Miami with his career in tatters and not a single supporter in sight. Who could possibly support that?
48 hours later though, the majority of the Dolphins locker room seemed to back the nine-year veteran, and suddenly it was Martin being vilified. His unforgivable crime: being "soft" and walking out on his teammates, breaking the strict unwritten code of the NFL.
I had several interactions with both of the players last season in the Dolphins locker room. Martin was quiet, polite, respectful, thoughtful and accommodating. Incognito; engaging, playful, boisterous and also quite accommodating. I truly believe Incognito feels betrayed and is shocked by Martin's reaction. I think in Incognito's mind, he was being selfless; an elder statesman taking a kid under his experienced wing. Sure, he gave him a hard time along the way but, he must reason, that's just part of the tough love that makes boys into men, rookies into veterans and scared young kids into fearless NFL stars. And there is the disconnect. So often conflict comes from misunderstanding. What Martin saw as harassment, and the public saw as despicable behavior, Incognito saw as a normal part of every day life in professional football. Richie thought he was taking one for the team; filling an important role in a culture that demands it, the only way he knew how. Trying to get his mind around Martin's recently-revealed interpretation of Incognito's long-established behavior towards him, and the resulting explosion that has torn his world apart, Incognito must be thinking, And this is the thanks I get?
Where the story goes from here is anybody's guess. It has already touched off a national debate on several topics, but please, don't compare the politics of your accounting office or the break room at your marketing firm to an NFL locker room. They are just too different in too many ways for the vague generalization of tangential similarities to be relevant.
One thing is sure though; heads are going to roll in Miami.
Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland? Dead man walkin'. Whether he or someone below him in the organization whispered a "tough him up" edict to Incognito, or as reported, he told Martin to handle the situation by punching Incognito, there's just too nasty a stench emanating from this sordid tale for Ireland to avoid his inevitable fate. Ireland might be a good guy. Might even a good GM. But in a profession whose only currency of any value is victories, he has not made enough deposits into the Dolphins bank of goodwill to survive this. Short of a monumentally unlikely Superbowl run, 2013 will be Ireland's final season in South Florida.
The players careers in Miami are both likely over. And their careers anywhere are very much in question. Position coaches, assistant coaches, the head coach... they are all on the menu. The public is hungry. The league must feast. You can already smell the unmistakable scent of a pu pu platter of fines and suspensions stacked high on a serving tray and on it's way out of the NFL's kitchen.
And the ultimate fallout will probably never be seen or known by the public. Sure, the NFL will send an unmistakable message with the fines to follow and make some kind of public declaration decrying the kinds of behaviors that have come to light. But those behaviors are far more widespread than fans will ever know, and now, in large part, they will cease. They will cease not because the offenders find a conscience or will even acknowledge that their actions are wrong, but because the scores of other Richie Incognito's scattered across the league want to make sure they remain anonymous.
