Again, I have not followed this to any in depth level but a couple good items:
1. Robert Klemko had an excellent point about how, if Incognito was the alpha male in the Dolphins locker room (as has been implied), Martin (a) had no chance, and (b) no one was going to stop him. Further, that no one else in the league would even consider letting behavior like that go on in the locker room. http://mmqb.si.com/2013/11/08/jonathan-martin-race-in-the-nfl/. Also Brian Williams has a great take over at Grantland: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9939308/richie-incognito-jonathan-martin-miami-dolphins-bullying-scandal 2. I was working trivia last night and saw Mike Tirico's interview with the owner of the Dolphins, an old white guy. I heard exactly none of the conversation, but lemme tell you: asking an NFL owner questions about what's going on in his team's locker room is like asking the head of Ford about morale out at Louisville Truck. 3. Finally, as along as any culture continues to operate that mental weakness is something to be exploited and mocked or hazing is something that's just "part of the world because I got it so you're gonna get it", that culture deserve to be at best ignored and at worst shamed repeatedly. Sports in general remains that place (just look at the gay battle that *still* goes on), and until a head coach and GM (it's gotta be both) shut this down, it remains. We watch in baseball's spring training about how rookies are hazed, and seemingly every time the reporters are chuckling and laughing: "Look! This rookie had to dress like Strawberry Shortcake! Ha ha! Isn't that just hilarious!" Yeah: let's imagine a high school where male freshman had to, on their fourth day of school, dress up like an effeminate character. Would that not cause an absolute shit storm? But hey, it's sports, so they're just guys having fun. Fuck that. On Tue, Nov 12, 2013 at 1:42 AM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > There is a lot we do not know about the situation with Jonathan Martin, > Richie Incognito and the Miami Dolphins. I am content to wait until we get > more information before reaching any conclusions. > > But there are a few things we already do know: > > 1. Richie Incognito is an out of control asshole. He has been for a long > time. Dude is 30 years old and he has a record of assholitry that stretches > back to at least his college days (I did not follow him in high school). > Although a very talented offensive lineman, he was kicked out of Nebraska, > and Oregon, for fighting and excessive penalties and generally being an out > of control asshole. He repeated the exact same pattern with the Rams, and > was kicked off the team when he blew up at his coach during a game. He had > more unnecessary roughness penalties in his 7 years with the Rams than any > other player in the league. He was once voted the dirtiest player in the > NFL. > > 2. The so-called interview Incognito gave to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer was "a > fucking joke" (see: > http://deadspin.com/richie-incognito-speaks-says-hes-not-a-racist-or-a-bu-1461816777). > It had no resemblance to anything like an interview, even granting that the > NFL pregame shows can not be considered sports journalism and must be > viewed as corporate propaganda. Glazer is a friend and probably business > associate of Incognito's (which at least he did disclose). He gave > Incognito a series of cues for rehearsed responses designed to make himself > look good. My favorite was, after reviewing the phone message in which he > called Martin a half-nigger, Glazer asked him if he was a racist and he > responded by saying "I'm not a racist. And to judge me by that one word is > wrong." As I say, I don't know if Incognito is a racist, and I don't know > all of what is going on with Martin, and the culture of the Dolphin's > locker room, and NFL locker rooms in general. I do know that after > listening to that message, it seems, to say the least, odd that the main > thing Incognito sees as wrong is the perception that he is a racist. > > Glazer allowed Incognito to get away with arguing that Martin gave as good > as he got, alleging that Martin sent him a message that he was going to > murder his entire family. If Martin's lawyer is to be trusted (and of > course, that is not at all clear) Incognito was being disingenuous, > referring to a lame internet meme that Martin forwarded to him (see: > http://deadspin.com/the-threatening-text-that-martin-sent-to-incognito-wa-1461938725). > The point here is that Glazer, who stated he was given access to more than > a thousand messages on Incognito's phone, did not ask him for any > specifics or context on the threat, and did not clarify this himself for > the viewer, even though he must have seen it for himself. > > While the Glazer interview is the most glaring example, it was really > interesting watching football on Sunday and seeing so many commentators > either defending Incognito or attacking Martin. While I have never been in > an NFL locker room, I have been in more than a few sports locker rooms, and > am no stranger to the rough and in your face brand of male teasing and cock > fighting that goes on. I also know how often that kind of thing gets out of > hand, and two guys start screaming or fighting. And I also know how ever > more often guys who can not afford to show how undermined they were by the > attacks go home in misery afterwards. > > Anyone who works in an NFL locker room, like those who work in the > writer's room of a sitcom like "Friends", has to expect a level of crude > language and behavior that would be intolerable in most work places. But > even so, there are lines that ought not to be crossed. I don't know if > Incognito crossed them, I don't know if Martin sent mixed messages about > what he wanted or could tolerate - I don't even know exactly where the > lines are. I do know that Incognito is an asshole who has a long history of > pushing people until they break, of going too far, of crossing lines, of > getting into fights and of hurting his team with stupid, needless > penalties. Why is the NFL establishment so eager to defend someone like > this? > > -- > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. 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