Coaches told Incognito to toughen Martin up

[Spider-Dan]

Again you are back to your assumptions which I pointed out once. You do not know the timeline. How do you know the toughen Martin up statement did not happen first?

I have stated repeatedly that it is contingent on timelines.

If Martin's visit with Philbin happened after the Code Aqua then Philbin is definitely in trouble.  He essentially generated harassment that Martin was complaining about and did not follow up with Incognito to make sure it stayed within the bounds of reason.  It's bad, and shows incompetence on his part, but he can recover from it and there probably won't be NLRB involvement.

If Martin's visit with Philbin happened before the Code Aqua then Philbin is unemployable in the NFL, Incognito is done, NFLPA will scramble the jets, NLRB/feds will get involved, and Martin won't have to worry about any lost earning potential because he'll be one of the best paid NFL players in recent memory after his multimillion-dollar lawsuit.

You are assuming retaliation, you are assuming it was Philbin, you are assuming timelines, etc. None of this is known to us as the public.

I am saying it's retaliation because as reported (Incognito was told to toughen up Martin after Martin missed a workout), it is obviously retaliation.

[Phishfan]

Yelling at someone after they get a holding penalty is retaliation also. I do not think the staff had expectations of causing a mental breakdown. As stated their goal was to get Martin into the program, not isolate and run him away from the team.

[Spider-Dan]

Players do not have the right to get holding penalties written into the CBA.

And if Martin had already come to them complaining about harassment, asking the same player accused of harassment to "toughen up" his alleged victim is deplorable.

[Phishfan]

If the Queen had balls she'd be the King also.

Martin can stay out ot OTA's but there is nothing wrong with (and I don't want a coach who wouldn't) persuading team members to be part of the community though.

I don't think it was gone about the right way but I expect the intentions were honest enough. Pressure Martin to join the team in OTAs and toughen his character a bit.

[el diablo]

^^^^ You're right. There's nothing wrong with persuading someone to attend OTA's. However, you can't use strong arm tactics. Especially ones that can be recorded. There's a right way & a wrong way to get the same point across. What people seem to miss is that there are regulations that must be adhered to. Timing and authority are everything here. Lawsuits cancel out win-loss records. Just like they would cancel out any performance record you may have at your job. Its just a question of how high does this go.

[Brian Fein]

Spider is the ONLY one that keeps using the word "Retaliation"

Let's give them the benefit of the doubt for a second...

Martin misses practice...

Coach: "Jonthan, why weren't you at today's practices?"
Martin: "coach, I don't feel like the guys are accepting me, cause they keep teasing me..."
Coach: "OK, Jonathan, we'll address it."

Coach: "Richie, you're the leader of that o-line, as a veteran guy and member of the leadership council, maybe you can talk to Jonathan and get him back into camp?"
Richie: "sure thing, coach!"

Richie: "Hey, you half-n----- piece of shit..."

Can you see how this seemingly innocuous situation has evolved into today's headlines?  As a member of the media, how does the above situation violate any of the headlines that have been posted the past few days?

[EKnight]

On Congress and nobody being arrested yes I did say that. And I am 100% right on that.

On the firing you are wrong. I said it will play a factor in his firing but it won't be the only reason why he is fired IF he is even fired.

You can't possibly know this though. How can you say "I'm 100% right," and go so far as to bash other posters for their presumptions when yours are just as likely to be wrong? Years ago when Canseco said half of baseball was juicing, no one thought Congress would get involved either or that players would be brought in front of a judge for various felonies. -EK

[Spider-Dan]

Let's give them the benefit of the doubt for a second...

Martin misses practice...

He didn't "miss practice"!

He elected not to attend a voluntary off-season workout.  According to the terms of the CBA, there should be zero management response to that.  ZERO.  Instead, management chose to send a player accused of harassing Martin to "toughen him up."  That is retaliation, plain as day.

Or (depending on timing), maybe Martin skipped the voluntary workout, then they sent Incognito (a player with a known history of behavior problems) after him.  In that case, management was responsible for making sure that Incognito "toughened Martin up" in a way that was in concert with team guidelines.  Not only did they not monitor the situation, as late as Sunday they were claiming they didn't even know it existed.

[MikeO]

You can't possibly know this though.

Sure I can. Congress isn't going to waste its time with this story/issue. While this issue/story is "big" in the football world its not so "big" it trumps real issues in the real world that needs the attention and time of congress! Seriously....what do you want congress to ask Ross/Philbin/Martin/Richie that would warrant time in Washington DC spending 3 seconds on this matter?

[EKnight]

You need to take a hard look at the general perception of bullying in America. It's a massive issue in schools and the media, and significantly bigger than steroids in baseball. If Congress got involved there, there's no reason to believe with such condescending certainty that they wouldn't here. -EK

[MikeO]

You need to take a hard look at the general perception of bullying in America. It's a massive issue in schools and the media, and significantly bigger than steroids in baseball. If Congress got involved there, there's no reason to believe with such condescending certainty that they wouldn't here. -EK

LOL, I will be waiting for Ted Cruz, Chuck Schumer and the the rest of the gang on the hill to bring in a bunch of folks from the Dolphins organization and ask them ....well what I don't know and for what reason I really don't know. I will set my DVR to CSPAN now so I don't miss it when it happens.

[EKnight]

Along that line:

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/11/miami-dolphins-bullying-issue-makes-it-to-the-white-house-briefing-room.html

The story is beyond "football news" at this point. The fact that a reporter would even as the president about it has opened the door for government involvement on some level. -EK

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

You need to take a hard look at the general perception of bullying in America. It's a massive issue in schools and the media, and significantly bigger than steroids in baseball. If Congress got involved there, there's no reason to believe with such condescending certainty that they wouldn't here. -EK

Congress might take up bullying in schools, and as a side note discuss if the NFL is setting a bad example.  They aren't going to hold hearings regarding the conduct in NFL locker rooms as a stand alone issue.  

Judges will be involved with the  lawsuits.  

[MikeO]

Congress might take up bullying in schools, and as a side note discuss if the NFL is setting a bad example.  They aren't going to hold hearings regarding the conduct in NFL locker rooms as a stand alone issue.  

Judges will be involved with the  lawsuits.  

Exactly!

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Along that line:

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/11/miami-dolphins-bullying-issue-makes-it-to-the-white-house-briefing-room.html

The story is beyond "football news" at this point. The fact that a reporter would even as the president about it has opened the door for government involvement on some level. -EK

That is a huge leap.  If the president brought up the issue, it is meaningful.  A reporter asked a question, means the reporter thinks it is important not that the Pres is planning to get involved.