Plenty of casual football fans are now hearing the name “Richie Incognito” for reasons unrelated to football. Plenty of football people had known the name for years, regarding him as radioactive for reasons unrelated to football.
During last night’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC, former Patriots V.P. of player personnel and Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli (who should be getting some credit for the talent he left for the new 9-0 regime in Kansas City) told Dan Patrick, “I didn’t want [Incognito] coming out [of college], and I don’t want him now.”
Former Bucs and Colts coach Tony Dungy echoed that sentiment earlier in the hour on The Dan Patrick Show. Dungy explained that, when Incognito entered the draft in 2005, the Colts had him on the “DNDC” list, which means “do not draft because of character.”
Throughout his career, Incognito has dealt with accusations of dirty play. But plenty of players who do their jobs well and play to the whistle (and a little bit beyond) get dubbed as dirty. For the first time in his career, Incognito has become embroiled in an off-field controversy that reveals more about his potential character than anything he ever has been accused of doing between the white lines.
Currently, Incognito is suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, he allegedly sent hostile text messages and voice messages to Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin that reportedly were “racially charged,” and there’s a chance it will get uglier before it gets any prettier.