Report: Incognito 'shocked,' 'betrayed' by Martin's claims
Suspended Miami Dolphins offensive guard Richie Incognito feels "shocked" and "betrayed" by teammate Jonathan Martin's claims of harassment and bullying, a source told ESPN.com Friday night.
Incognito reportedly believed he and Martin were friends.
The Dolphins suspended Incognito indefinitely last Sunday for conduct detrimental to the team after Martin revealed threatening voice mails and text messages he received from Incognito to the team, the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
Martin left the team Oct. 28 after a lunchroom prank in which some teammates, including Incognito, refused to sit next to him. He is in Los Angeles with his family and receiving counseling for emotional issues.
The league is investigating the Dolphins while Martin and Incognito are away from the team.
"It's probably a combination of totally blindsided and a bit betrayed," the source said of Incognito. "He's shocked. He can't believe this happened and thinks it probably could have been avoided."
Incognito reportedly viewed himself as a "tough-love older brother" to Martin. Incognito was rough on Martin but was also protective of him, the source said.
Incognito reportedly used racial slurs and profanity directed at Martin several times, including in voicemails and text messages.
"Hey, wassup, you half (racial slur) piece of (expletive)," Incognito said on an April voicemail to Martin. "I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. I'll (expletive) in your (expletive) mouth. I'm gonna slap your (expletive) mouth, I'm gonna slap your real mother across the face (laughter). (Expletive) you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you."
While Incognito's teammates have expressed public support for him, others around the league have not.
ESPN.com polled 72 NFL players this week, in part to gauge their opinions of Incognito and Martin.
When asked which of the two players they would rather have as a teammate, 15 respondents (20.8 percent) preferred Incognito, 34 (47.2 percent) indicated Martin and 23 (31.9 percent) wanted neither.
Overall, the results showed that 57 (79.2 percent) would not want Incognito as a teammate.
