Veteran Incognito has been suspended indefinitely for alleged racist bullying. Second-year player Martin walked out on the Dolphins last week after a lunchroom prank, and is in California with his family.
Martin and Incognito's primary roles as offensive linemen for the Miami Dolphins is protecting quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
"If you had asked Jon Martin a week before who his best friend on the team was, he would have said Richie Incognito," Tannehill said. "The first guy to stand up for Jonathan when anything went down on the field, any kind of tussle, Richie was the first guy there. When they wanted to hang out outside of football, who was together? Richie and Jonathan."
Tannehill added: "All I know about Richie is he's a great teammate to me. I saw him being a great teammate all the time. Does he like to give guys a hard time? Yes. Does he like to pester guys and have fun? Yes. But he brought a lot of laughter to this locker room, he brought a lot of cohesiveness to this locker room and he was the best teammate that I could ask for."
Shortly after the NFL appointed a lawyer to investigate possible misconduct within the team workplace, other Dolphins spoke out about the row for the first time and with at least one questioning Martin's motives.
"I don't know why he's doing this," offensive lineman Tyson Clabo said. "And the only person who knows why, his name is Jonathan Martin."
Sources say that Martin had considered quitting football in the past because of how other offensive linemen treated him. A silly prank was said to be the final straw for Martin - when Martin sat down to eat, everyone else at the table stood up and walked away. Tannehill and offensive lineman John Jerry both said they've been targets of that very act in the past, and that it's typically just laughed off. Not this time. Martin left the team on October 28 after it happened. The story spiraled, with questions about not only whether bullying was tolerated, but if the white veteran used racially charged terms against his biracial teammate in phone and text messages.
"What's perceived is that he was a racist, psychopath maniac," Clabo said. "The reality is Richie was a good teammate, and that Richie and Jonathan Martin were friends, or appeared to be."
Added Jerry, who is black, speaking about Incognito's alleged use of a racial slur: "I know the type of person he is and I know he don't mean it that way."
What goes on inside the Dolphins locker room is to be probed by New York attorney Ted Wells for the NFL. Wells has experience with high-profile sports matters, having been involved with special investigations into the Syracuse basketball sexual harassment case and the NBA players union leadership dispute.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said the team will cooperate fully with the NFL investigation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said: "Mr. Wells will conduct a thorough and objective investigation. He will ensure that we have all the facts so that we can address this matter constructively."
Miami coach Joe Philbin added: "The type of culture that I've championed since the day I've walked through these doors has been one of honesty, respect and accountability to one another. I consider those to be hallmarks of this program, and I believe our locker room reflects those beliefs. I believe in the men in our locker room, and I believe in our coaching staff."
Defensive end Cameron Wake said: "What's been bothering me is kind of things that you hear from outside this locker room about things that maybe undermine the integrity or the leadership or the type of players and the class of guys that we have here and the class of this organization. I've been here five years and coach Philbin has done nothing but turn this organization in a positive direction from top to bottom."
Clabo said: "You have to earn the trust of your teammates in this league. No one is going to walk in the door and just automatically be somebody that you want to go into a game with and believe and trust and know that that person's going to be there when he's supposed to be there. Those things have to be earned."
The case has focused attention on the sport's locker room culture of joking and hazing, and when and whether the traditions go too far. And whether Miami coach Philbin and his staff were negligent in allowing issues between Martin and Incognito to fester.
Current and ex-players around the NFL say the situation reflects a lack of leadership because teammates of Martin and Incognito didn't intervene. The players' union issued a statement Tuesday saying it expects the NFL and teams to "create a safe and professional workplace for all players."
Players on other teams recounted stories this week of bringing breakfast sandwiches to players at their position or purchasing trays of food before road trips. But none revealed anything approaching the $15,000 that Martin reportedly coughed up for a Las Vegas trip other players took. Or the types of text messages apparently involved.
Washington veteran Nick Barnett explained that younger players are sometimes stuck with $5,000 dinner tabs. Men who are often well above 6-feet tall are held down and given unwanted haircuts or get their eyebrows shaved.
"You have different people, different personalities, different cultures in here, and it's not going to be the same as in an accountant's office or Wall Street. Same as our armed forces," Barnett said, standing at his locker after Washington's practice. "But every social setting has its standards, and when (you) cross those standards ... especially with a guy who is 6-something-foot tall, 300 pounds ... not coming to practice because he feels bullied or whatever the case is, now we have an issue."
Several players said they think it's up to players to prevent the behavior that goes beyond good-natured joking. That was the failure in Miami, they say.
"I know Jonathan Martin didn't feel comfortable enough to go to any of the guys, because either you're encouraging it or you're just turning a blind eye and allowing the guy to get treated like he was getting treated," Washington veteran London Fletcher said. "And that's the biggest thing that disappointed me. ... There was not a veteran guy strong enough to stop what was happening."
