The strange, bizarre saga of Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito continues to unfold, with a name that previously hasn’t been mentioned now thrust into the middle of the burgeoning mess.
Per multiple league sources, Dolphins G.M. Jeff Ireland received a call from one of Martin’s agent, Kenny Zuckerman, after Martin left the team on October 28. Zukerman complained to Ireland about the manner in which Incognito was treating Martin.
Ireland, according to the sources, suggested to Zuckerman that Martin physically confront Incognito. Ireland specifically mentioned that Martin should “punch” Incognito.
Reached for comment by phone on Wednesday night, Dolphins senior V.P. of media relations Harvey Greene reiterated to PFT the position that there will be no public comment from the team on any aspect of the situation, given the league’s pending review.
Throughout the past few days, it’s become clear that too many people in and around football believe that locker-room bullying should be met with violence. That fact that Ireland suggested that Martin should physically confront Incognito is, frankly, alarming.
Ireland’s comments to Zuckerman, coupled with Wednesday’s comments from multiple players, also supports Martin’s eventual conclusion that the team wasn’t inclined to do anything about the situation without Martin taking a stand — not by fighting Incognito but by walking out.
UPDATE 11:04 a.m. ET 11/7/13: A prior version of this story identified the agent as Rick Smith. It was Kenny Zuckerman, who works with Smith at the same firm. Also, a prior version of this story characterized the call as happening before Martin left the team. The call happened after Martin left.