The hump day Twitter tirade from Dolphins guard Richie Incognito is intriguing, revealing, and ultimately troubling.
“It’s who he is,” one league source opined to PFT regarding the question of why Incognito would attack Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin and his agent, Kenny Zuckerman, on Twitter less than a month before Incognito becomes a free agent -- and possibly only days before Ted Wells’ report is released
Proclaiming that “the truth is going to bury” Martin and his “camp” does nothing to make Incognito into a more sympathetic figure, or less of a potential distraction to his next team. Incognito’s own camp should be telling him to knock it off at least until he signs a new contract. And if his agents are telling him that and he’s ignoring them, Incognito’s agents should be telling him to find someone else to represent him.
Through it all, Incognito has made some good points, even if someone else should be making them. Since our last post on the issue, Incognito has asked Zuckerman via Twitter, “What do you have to say for your actions? Why did you release the [voice message]? What was your goal?”
There was an apparent media campaign in the early stages of the controversy that, along with the team’s decision to suspend Incognito, created the impression that Incognito did something very wrong. It arguably was unnecessary, and it’s fair to ask why that strategy was employed.
Still, at a time when Incognito is complaining about Zuckerman revealing private information to the media, Incognito has made a private, sensitive disclosure of his own on Twitter. “FACT: Jonathan Martin told me he thought about taking his own life in MAY 2013 b/c he wasn’t playing well,” Incognito said. “Told me he felt worthless.”
Accurate or not, what purpose does it serve to make that disclosure public now, especially as the Ted Well report inches closer to publication?
Meanwhile, Incognito has offered an arguably sarcastic apology for the statements contained in the oft-raunchy text messages with Martin that Incognito’s camp apparently leaked last week.
“I apologize to all of the women out there that I offended with my text messages to my close personal friend,” Incognito said.
Incognito hasn’t publicly apologized for -- or even mentioned -- his golf-course behavior toward a female volunteer that reportedly resulted in a cash payment to settle her legal claims.
But someone will still happily sign Incognito when he becomes a free agent, even as anonymous scouts and General Managers obsess over whether Michael Sam will be too much of a distraction for an NFL team.