Dolphins coach Joe Philbin met the media Monday for the first time since the suspension of guard Richie Incognito for conduct detrimental to the team stemming from his alleged harassment of tackle Jonathan Martin.
Philbin said several times that neither Martin nor his family had made the team aware of any alleged misconduct by Dolphins players against Martin until Sunday despite several conversations between the coach and the player. When they did, Philbin said he made the decision to suspend Incognito and told the team’s owner Stephen Ross about the nature of the allegations. Ross asked the NFL to come in and conduct a review of the workplace. Philbin didn’t have word on when the review would begin, but said he’d cooperate fully with it whenever it begins.
“If the review shows this is not a safe atmosphere, I will take whatever measures necessary to assure that it is,” Philbin said.
Philbin wouldn’t discuss the specific nature of the information Martin provided to him and also avoided questions about issues with racism in the locker room that referenced the voicemail Incognito allegedly left for Martin. He also said that it wasn’t the time to discuss whether either player would ever play for the team again and that the issue has been addressed in a meeting with the other players in the team.