On Saturday, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports interviewed suspended Dolphins guard Richie Incognito. On Sunday, FOX televised only a small portion of the interview.
Arguably the most telling exchange -- on the topic of whether coaches ordered Incognito to “toughen up” Jonathan Martin -- was omitted.
Glazer addressed the issue during FOX NFL Sunday with what folks in the TV business call a tag: “I asked Incognito if the coaches ordered a ‘Code Red.’ Did they order him to toughen up Jonathan Martin? Incognito sidestepped the question, saying he can’t answer because of the ongoing legal situation. The NFL is expected to meet with Jonathan Martin in Los Angeles later this week.”
FOX has posted the raw video and audio of the exchange, which in our assessment contains something more than a refusal to answer.
“There’s another report out there also that, and again it’s part of the what went on behind the scenes there, that your coaches ordered you to, quote, toughen Jonathan Martin up,” Glazer said. “True or false?”
“I’m here to talk about my relationship with Jon,” Incognito said. “There’s an NFL investigation, and they will get to the bottom of all that. This is about me and Jon, and this is about me caring for this guy and me loving this guy like a brother.”
If there was no order to toughen up Martin, the easy answer would have been that no order was given. By Incognito avoiding the question and saying that the NFL’s investigation “will get to the bottom of all that,” there’s nothing to get to the bottom of unless there was an order to toughen Martin up.
So, yeah, someone wanted Incognito to toughen up Martin. Which could be good for Incognito, and very bad for whoever in Miami gave that order.