NBC Sports Mike Florio Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
NBCNFLBy Drew Lerner on

In something of an odd turn during the post-Super Bowl NFL news cycle, a decades-old scandal between former Miami Dolphins offensive linemen Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito has resurfaced.

The scandal, dubbed “Bullygate” at the time, is back at the forefront after ESPN’s Anthony Olivieri published a report earlier this week revealing Martin, the purported victim of Incognito’s bullying, told the reporter, “I never believed for a second I was being bullied.”

Incognito has now taken to social media, calling out multiple NFL reporters he deemed unfairly covered the scandal in 2015.

On Sunday afternoon, Incognito took aim at ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter for sharing a “notable excerpt” from the Olivieri report on social media. Incognito responded, “Notable excerpt?! You tried to ruin my life over this bullsh*t.”

The former Dolphins lineman also posted a series of social media posts targeting Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, specifically saying that the reporter “tried to ruin [his] career over a lie.”

Florio defended his reporting Sunday night, claiming that, while Martin may insist now that he wasn’t “bullied,” Incognito’s poor behavior was well-documented in an NFL investigation. Like the New Orleans Saints “Bountygate” scandal, Florio claims the league used Incognito as an example to “scare everyone else straight,” hoping that harsh punishment would root out similar behavior at other franchises.

As Florio says in his new report, the situation has “nuance.”

The Pro Football Talk founder suggests that the NFL had a “preordained conclusion” to the Incognito investigation and that his behavior, while unsavory when viewed in a fishbowl by the public, was how players typically communicated with each other. However, the public nature of the accusations forced the league to “circle the wagons and clutch its pearls, rather than acknowledging that this is how things worked.”

Incognito did not take well to Florio’s version of events, again posting on social media that he was not taking a “victory lap,” as Florio says in his piece. Instead, it’s an “I told you so.” The former lineman has also posted several pictures of him and Martin, seemingly getting along as friends, as evidence that he never bullied his former teammate.

The truth likely lies somewhere between Incognito’s and Florio’s versions of events.

It’s entirely reasonable to think that Incognito is vindicated, especially after Martin has come out and said he wasn’t bullied. But there’s also plenty of shocking evidence revealed from the NFL’s investigation, including a phone recording in which he harshly criticizes Martin, showing his behavior falls short of what most would deem acceptable in a workplace.

But the NFL is no common workplace; it’s filled with intense, top-class, and hyper-competitive athletes. Knowing this, the league could’ve easily acted swiftly, as Mike Florio suggests, to make an example out of Incognito without this type of behavior turning into a league-wide scandal.

Still, the recent revelations certainly give Incognito a right to criticize how reporters covered the situation 10 years ago, though this may not necessarily amount to a complete rewriting of history.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

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