Incognito (Page 2)

Pitt, don't take it personal......I'm laughing at the viewpoint in general...because to me it's laughable.  Look, if you want to be protected in the "workplace"....then go get a damn job and join the "workforce".  If you want to make millions playing a brutal game then man up....geez. 

This dog piling of Incognito in the name of "workplace safety" is, I'm sorry, actually beyond laughable.

NM.

In this case, with this player, there is a problem:

• 2002, bullied player in college so bad that he quit the team
• 2003, Suspended by Frank Solich for reasons that were never disclosed
• 2004, charged with 3 counts of assault
• 2009, headbutted 2 opponents and was released by the St Louis Rams
• Picked up and quickly released by the Buffalo Bills
• 2009, voted "Dirtiest Player" in NFL, by NFL players.

These are some of the documented incidents, wait until you start to hear from back office personnel in the Dolphin office.

Seems to me that Mr. Incognito has problems and needs help. This isn't about workplace safety, it is about treatment of other human beings. Play the "tough guy in a tough game" card all you want, he went over the line. A real man controls his temper and knows boundaries. So, maybe he should "Man Up".

I'm not saying Incognito is not a bonehead.....and I'm REALLY not ok with calling Martin at home and harrassing him....that could actually be criminal depending on what was said. 

But there is no doubt that he is the leader of that O line.....that's what happens when you don't  keep the big dog on a leash.  Like I said, he's a valued teammate.

But let's face it.....there are alot of "football people" that don't want this to become more than what it is.....and there is no way in hell they want their practice field, locker room, etc. having to play by the same rules as we do "in the workplace".  Can you imagine your boss actually screaming at you?  Can you fight at work?  So is everyone saying that some things are OK but other things that are also against "workplace standards" are not?

I just don't see it as news.....and I will never see it as some kind of workplace issue....not when the rules are OBVIOUSLY not the same as for the rest of us.

1. I don't know how well Martin performed in his job, so I won't go there.
2. I would not be surprised to see him playing next year, probably not for the Dolphins though. In the NFL, it boils down to ability. If you have that, you have a job. Or, in the very least, an opportunity for a job.

I get all that......I've spent nearly a lilfetime in locker rooms myself between all boys high school, Marine Corps, and my job....pranks are the best part of it for sure, along with the bonding between folks who have to fight together...on whatever level. 

BUT.... the NFL is not a "workplace" as defined by most of us.....what is tolerated by the members of a team is largely a product of their own making, wouldn't you agree?  The problem with this deal is that the craziest guy became a leader......with no rope around him and nobody to stand up and put an end to it.  That's not just a Richy problem.

I'll say it again......my issue is calling this a workplace deal when other behavior that would also be CLEARLY out of bounds in "the workplace" is fine.

^^ ok that made me SOL (snort out loud), Seriously, what a jerk.  did you hear that promo he did for the Dolphins about fan behavior?

Employers yelling at workers and fighting is also considered harrassment.......how should that be handled in the NFL "workplace"?

And if you've ever taken a course in law enforcement, threatening to kill someone by phone or otherwise harrassing them in their home is criminal.

This is a TEAM issue.....it's not news and it's not a "workplace" issue to me.  I promise the rank and file players don't want it to be.  Treating what happens between players and coaches the same as any other workplace is ridiculous.

Pain is temporary.

Maybe, but once they are outside the workplace, leaving voicemails and text messages, it becomes something totally different IMO. I could care less of they yell at each, make them buy dinners for the vets (those days are always planned they said on ESPN) or even make them do stupid things at camp, but once you start harassing me at home or outside the stadium/locker room, then it crosses the line from "motivating/toughening up/hazing or however you want to justify it to harrassment.

Yeah, that's because Gruden et al want to have their cake and eat it too.  If you are going to hold it up to "workplace" standards then you don't get to change the  rules and say some out of bounds activity is OK but other activity is not.  Either we are all working under the same rules or we aren't.  As Tony said....there is NO WAY "normal" behavior in the NFL "workplace" is tolerated at any other "workplace". 

I agree with that 100%.......but I go toward criminal at that point.

By a strictly lergal standpoint it happens all the time......lines are crossed and NOTHING is done about it, mostly because the players handle it amongst themselves.  It's not "reasonable" by any standard or it wouldn't be handled in any way.....but no employment action is taken, and rightfully so in my mind, because the dynamics of an NFL team make it inherently different from almost any other workplace.

Yeah, that's because Gruden et al want to have their cake and eat it too.  If you are going to hold it up to "workplace" standards then you don't get to change the  rules and say some out of bounds activity is OK but other activity is not.  Either we are all working under the same rules or we aren't.  As Tony said....there is NO WAY "normal" behavior in the NFL "workplace" is tolerated at any other "workplace".