Ted Wells has finally released his highly-anticipated report on the goings-on in the Miami Dolphins that ultimately led to Jonathan Martin's decision to leave the team at midseason. The report isn't exactly glowing. Wells concluded that Richie Incognito didn't just bully Jonathan Martin. He was the ringleader of a group of offensive linemen that taunted not just Martin, but another offensive lineman and an athletic trainer as well.
Much like the Mitchell Report, Wells' report is long. 144 pages. It's difficult to read, and I came nowhere near making it through the whole thing. But from what I was able to gather, it's clear that something inappropriate was going on. And that's the Dolphins' fault as much as it is Richie Incognito's. Nobody stepped up to stop the harassment until it got past the point of no return. It's also probably fair to say that none of the players involved wanted to drive Martin from the team.
I'm not condoning Richie Incognito's behavior. Some of the things he said were downright disgusting and absolutely crossed the line. But even after seeing the report and its findings, I'm still having trouble understanding Jonathan Martin's role in all of this. He's not the first guy to be picked on in an NFL locker room, and I have no doubt he won't be the last. And I'm in no place to speak about his mental state. But I still think Martin could've handled the whole situation better.
It obviously got to him. Things got so bad that he was in counseling, and he was even contemplating suicide last year. But quitting the team and airing its dirty laundry in the media wasn't the answer. Martin certainly feels vindicated by the release of the report, which backs up some of his claims. However, Wells even stated that it was hard to investigate those same claims. Martin and Incognito had a very hard-to-define relationship, and Martin's mental health state likely made him overly sensitive to his situation.
Could some of their text messages have been construed as banter between friends if the circumstances were different? Probably. Did Jonathan Martin think that? Probably not. Did he ever tell Richie Incognito that he felt uncomfortable and ask him to stop? Even the report doesn't make that clear. If he did and Incognito and Co. refused, that's one thing. But if he didn't before abruptly leaving the team and running to the media, then it's not entirely fair to paint Incognito as this vicious monster.
Again, I'm not defending Incognito or his actions. But there was a better way to handle this than the way Jonathan Martin chose. The report even shows that the problem was far more than Richie Incognito's treatment of Jonathan Martin. The problem was the culture of the Dolphins' locker room. It was a problem that needed to be addressed, which is probably the one good thing to come out of this. Certain elements of the "boys will be boys" mentality that has been a staple of locker rooms for years will now come under scrutiny, and there are a lot of things that are pretty common that will now be considered in a completely different light because of what happened in Miami.
Dolphins coach Joe Philbin and owner Stephen Ross have both vowed that there will be a change. Wells determined that neither one knew what was going on, and would've put a stop to it if they were aware. Other than Incognito and that fine upstanding citizen Mike Pouncey (the same guy who wore a "Free Hernandez" shirt two days after Hernandez was arrested FOR MURDER!), it looks like the main culprit was offensive line coach Jim Turner. Turner knew about what was going on and, the report concludes, even joined in. If that's true, the Dolphins have no other choice than to fire Turner.
Incognito and Martin both probably won't be back with the Dolphins in 2014 either. Incognito's an unrestricted free agent, and there appears to be no chance Miami will make an effort to keep him. Martin still has two years left on his rookie contract, but the Dolphins are likely going to either release or trade him. That's for the best. Because there's no way either one could go back to that locker room. Miami needs a clean slate.
In fact, they're both going to struggle to find a job anywhere in the NFL. Incognito's reputation will precede him, just like this is going to haunt Martin for the rest of his career (provided there is one). That's the real tragedy here. Jonathan Martin left because he thought he had no other way out. Instead, he ruined three careers, including his own.
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