Bully

Boys will be boys. And some boys never grow up.

 

The independent investigation into the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin case is complete and Ted Wells has published his report. Unsurprisingly, Wells’ inquiry confirmed that Incognito is a total ass hat. Incognito has always been an ass hat. I remember how happy I was when he signed with the Dolphins. I figured he was worth between ten and thirty yards in penalties per game.

In recent weeks, Incognito had maintained he would be vindicated by the report. Does this mean he still doesn’t think he did anything wrong? It seems we’ve all agreed that the NFL locker room is a workplace but a workplace unlike the place of business where you and I work. We don’t get naked together on a regular basis for one thing. Even though we keep our clothes on, we still believe in team work. We rely on our co-workers and they rely on us. If they succeed, we benefit just as they benefit from our success. We may not hang out after work but we do our best from 9:00am to 5:00pm to be at least civil to each other.

This was not the case in Miami. Perhaps it’s one of the reasons a team that was supposed to vie for the AFC East crown finished 8-8-0 in 2013, losing their final two games to miss the playoffs. It certainly didn’t help.

The news that HC Joe Philbin didn’t know anything about the abusive environment in his own locker room was greeted with snickering incredulity. Maybe there wasn’t any evidence to prove he knew what was going on but the former players I’ve seen interviewed have universally rejected the notion that Philbin didn’t know. This is a lose-lose for Philbin from my perspective although knowing and doing nothing – tacitly approving what was happening – would probably have led to his being fired.

The most damning aspect of the reveal was watching a shocked and disgusted Tedy Bruschi on ESPN. There was an edge to his voice as he referred to the shocking content and declared it to be foreign to any NFL locker room he had ever been in.

Cue the obligatory reference to the Patriot Way: When the Incognito-Martin story first broke there was a fair amount of chatter about the New England locker room culture. There were stories about how Belichick had put his foot down regarding rookie hazing – specifically sticking the new guys with five figure dinner bills – and Belichick’s working relationship with the team captains. Bill Belichick not knowing what’s going on in the locker room? Bill Belichick would know what I had for lunch last Tuesday if he thought it would help the Patriots win next Sunday’s game.

NOTE: I’m not saying the Patriots are perfect (whether it’s Adalius Thomas, Albert Haynesworth or Aaron Hernandez) nor am I saying New England holds an exclusive patent on organizational excellence. Look at the standings. Those teams at the top know what they’re doing. The teams at the bottom? Not so much. And yes, I’m looking at you, Cleveland.

Darren Woodson said he felt Jonathan Martin will not come out of this unscathed. He agreed Martin had a better chance of continuing his NFL career than Incognito but the fact that Martin walked away rather than confronting the situation bothered Woodson. I’m sure he isn’t the only one who feels that way and some of those people are general managers and head coaches in the NFL. I get his point but I’m not sure what Martin was supposed to do. Fight Incognito (and Mike Pouncey and John Jerry)? Go to his position coach? I’m not sure how earlier reports that Dolphins coaches encouraged Incognito to “toughen up” Martin square with Joe Philbin knowing nothing about the situation but I’m guessing Martin didn’t see his coaches as sympathetic to his plight.

If I owned the Miami Dolphins I would clean house. I would fire Joe Philbin and every member of his staff. I would cut Mike Pouncey and John Jerry regardless of the cap implications and follow that up with a public statement that character does matter and will matter as long as I’m the owner of the Miami Dolphins. I would meet one on one with every player under contract and make it clear what is expected of them as professionals and that I wanted each and every one of them to lead by example when it comes to creating a locker room culture that makes men proud to put on the jersey of the Miami Dolphins. I would have new GM Dennis Hickey hire a head coach who would know what’s going on in the locker room. Then I’d buy a full page in the sports section of the Miami Herald apologizing to the fans and to the players and coaches of the Don Shula era.

None of that will happen, of course. Which is cool with me, of course, because I’m a Patriots’ fan.