Two weeks ago, the 144-page Ted Wells report landed in the collective laps of the football-following world.
Since then, the Dolphins have fired offensive line coach Jim Turner and head trainer Kevin O’Neill. As to the three players accused of wrongdoing in the report, there has been nothing.
No discipline from the league. No discipline from the team. Not even a statement of any kind from the players, but for Richie Incognito’s initial Twitter rant in the wake of the issuance of the report.
Richie Incognito’s lawyer, Mark Schamel, promptly issued a statement claiming that the Wells report is “replete with errors,” and explaining that “[w]e are analyzing the entire report and will release a thorough analysis as soon as it is ready.”
It’s been two weeks. Where’s the thorough analysis of the plethora of errors in the report?
Mike Pouncey and John Jerry have said even less. Pouncey supposedly is “distraught.” Presumably, he could gather himself enough in the last 14 days either to express disagreement with the findings of the report that relate to him or to acknowledge his role and apologize for it.
Pouncey’s silence isn’t really a surprise. He said nothing at all after his birthday-party misadventures with a “Free Hernandez” hat, even though Pouncey’s twin brother, Maurice, apologized for it.
Still, at a certain point Pouncey’s silence becomes an admission.
The NFL likewise has done nothing. Delays often arise from the league’s desire to investigate the situation. In this case, the investigation has been performed, at the NFL’s behest.
The league possibly is waiting for the right lull in the calendar to announce news of player discipline. Actually, the best day for that could be today; two years ago on the first Friday in March, the league first disclosed via a late-afternoon bad-news dump the Saints bounty scandal.
If the NFL is going to discipline Incognito, Pouncey, and/or Jerry, maybe it’ll happen today. The longer it lingers, the stranger it all seems.