Incognito's Point of view: Incognito talked to ESPN's James Walker, telling him that he (Incognito) was "shocked" and "betrayed" by the accusations from Martin. Walker reported that the linemen felt has though the two of them were friends and held the role of a "tough love older brother".
Background on Incognito:
Incognito was drafted in 2005 by the St. Louis Rams after going to school at Nebraska. He was released from the Rams in 2009 and picked up by the Buffalo Bills for a year (2009) before being picked up by the Dolphins in 2010.
Others' Point of view:
A former teammate, Josh Brown, who is the current kicker for the Giants is no stranger to Incognito. Brown played with Incognito at the University of Nebraska and again in St. Louis. Josh remembers the lineman being, "somebody who's really got some demons that are out of the building," and that this was no surprise. Brown went on to say, "None of it shocks me,"... "I don't know any details obviously. The league hasn't released anything. But Richie seems to be a person with a tortured soul. He's had these issues for quite awhile, and it's sad." He also said he didn't remember their being any big issues with Richie while with the Rams, but was released by them in 2009.
NY Daily News reported that while with the Rams, Incognito was referred to as one of the dirtiest player in the league. This past Monday, a former coach of the Colts, Tony Dungy said that Incognito was on the team's DNDC, Do Not Draft because of Character, list before the 2005 NFL draft. Former (Kansas City) Chiefs GM and (New England) Patriots player-personnel vice president, Scott Pioli, said he didn't want him when he was coming out of college and he didn't want him now.
However, not everyone saw him as someone negative. Ryan Tannehill, quarterback for the Dolphins, told the news on Wednesday, "If you asked Martin who his best friend is on the team two weeks ago, he'd say Richie Incognito,"... "It's tough for us to sit here and here all that when we have each others' backs."
Another teammate, tackle Tyson Clabo who also spoke to the news on Wednesday said, "What's perceived is that Richie is this psychopath racist, and the reality is Richie was a pretty good teammate,"... I don't know why (Martin is) doing this. And the only person who knows why is Jonathan Matin."
Which every side sways the public more didn't really matter because currently Incognito is indefinitely suspended and Martin has taken what seems to be a leave.
My Point of view: Before I give my opinion, I'd like to state that I don't know all of the details because every story that has come out either has very little detail itself and/or has a contradictory story to others. Some parts of the story make it seem like this guy (Incognito) has been the image that media is painting and when you speak to current teammates they don't see the same guy. Honestly, with the given information and the different stories that are out, I feel like Richie was a guy that got to caught up in the culture of the NFL. The name calling and the trash talking went to far and his teammate's feelings weren't taken into account. Now, by no means am I saying what he did is right because I feel as though he does need to make an apology to Martin and that this could've been a situation that spiraled out of control and should've been handled privately.
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