Miami Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin will meet late next week with the NFL’s special investigator to discuss allegations in the team’s harassment scandal according to a report published by the Associated Press.
On Friday, Martin’s attorney David Cornwell released a statement on behalf of the Miami Dolphins offensive lineman which was published by Pro Football Talk.
In the statement, Cornwell made clear that the allegations by Martin go way beyond the normal rookie hazing and our unacceptable by any workplace standards.
Here is the statement:
Jonathan Martin’s toughness is not at issue. Jonathan has started every game with the Miami Dolphins since he was drafted in 2012. At Stanford, he was the anchor for Jim Harbaugh’s “smash mouth” brand of football and he protected Andrew Luck’s blind side.
The issue is Jonathan’s treatment by his teammates. Jonathan endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing. For the entire season-and-a-half that he was with the Dolphins, he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope that doing so would end the harassment. This is a textbook reaction of victims of bullying. Despite these efforts, the taunting continued. Beyond the well-publicized voice mail with its racial epithet, Jonathan endured a malicious physical attack on him by a teammate, and daily vulgar comments such as the quote at the bottom. These facts are not in dispute.
Eventually, Jonathan made a difficult choice. Despite his love for football, Jonathan left the Dolphins. Jonathan looks forward to getting back to playing football. In the meantime, he will cooperate fully with the NFL investigation.
Quote from teammate: “We are going to run train on your sister. . . . She loves me. I am going to f–k her without a condom and c– in her c—.”
The quote at the end is, according to Cornwell, from an identified teammate. Cornwell has said that Martin’s issues are not just with Richie Incognito but others on the team.
The NFL is investigating whether Incognito harassed or bullied Martin, and whether their teammates and the organization mishandled the matter.
Dolphins players have come out strongly in support of Incognito and said he was a rock on the team who showed great leadership and loyalty.
Dolphins’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill said, “I had no clue about the voicemail. I had never seen that, had never heard about that. All I know about Richie (Incognito) is that he was a great teammate to me, I saw him being a great teammate all the time. Does he like to give guys a hard time? Yes. Does he like to pester guys and have fun? Yes. He brought a lot of laughter to this locker room, he brought a lot of cohesiveness to this locker room and he was the best teammate that I could ask for.”
“They did a lot of stuff together,” tackle Tyson Clabo said. “So if he had a problem with the way he was treating him, he had a funny way of showing it.”
Meantime, many players and former teammates of Martin are expressing their support of his character, toughness and athletic ability.
Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck, called the incident “unfortunate” and that he loves Martin “like a brother.” 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh who recruited Martin at Stanford said, “There’s only one thing that I can intelligently comment on and that’s knowing Jonathan Martin. I know him to be a fine person …,” Harbaugh said. “Epitomizes the student-athlete model and (is) a personal friend. I support Jonathan.”
