The Dolphins’ tone yesterday got a little more grave with every passing press release regarding the Jonathan Martin situation.
And now we know why they moved so swiftly from keeping it at arm’s length to suspending guard Richie Incognito for conduct detrimental to the team.
According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports, multiple sources said Incognito sent text messages and left voicemails “that are both threatening and racially charged in nature,” and that copies of both have been turned over to the league for its investigation.
That helps explain why a team that said they hadn’t been told of any bullying changed course so swiftly, announcing last night that Incognito was going away for a moment.
They now face a similar challenge to Eagles coach Chip Kelly, who had to finesse wide receiver Riley Cooper back into the locker room after he was caught on video using racial slurs this summer.
After being in the hot center of the fire to begin with, things have cooled, and while all of Cooper’s teammates may not trust him, he’s at least contributing to the workplace without incident.
Whether the Dolphins can make it go away as quickly remains to be seen.