How many major stories get beaten into the ground? Almost all of them really. At some point, you say "I am so sick of seeing x, we know everything.' This could be a major cable news story, Tim Tebow on ESPN, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Armstrong, the names go on forever and really the news networks tend to exhaust every angle. Currently, the story with that title is Johnathan Martin and Richie Incognito bullying scandal. The topic will not die. Martin made an appearance on the Today Show to explain what happened and then a bomb dropped as the texts between the two were finally released saying more about Martin's character and what it comes with always be the bad guy.The Big Lead had the story detailing all the texts between the two guys. As you will read, these are the type of things you hear from guys all the time. I do not text my friends this sort of explicit stuff, but when I am around them, I will say things that I would never say around my mother although nothing this intense usually. These two really sound like two big frat boys trying to get laid almost every night by random strange. Being vulgar is how many people interact whether they are male or female. While I am not condoning everything Martin and Incognito talked about, I hope everyone realizes this is par for the course when dealing with two jocks in the National Football League.
It truly makes Martin look like he tried to set up Incognito. There are some things where you can tell Martin is getting pressured into a friendship; most of the time these two are acting like best friends. Who doesn't text their friends to see what plans are for the evening? Would you check that out with a guy whose been picking on you at the office? Probably not. Same goes with recaps of how their night was if the two were not together. You do not talk with a bully about this sort of thing. The jokes were pretty even on what's the worst thing that could be said along with making fun of the other person. Martin acts like a victim when really he was a playful participant in the whole things rendering his whole case against Incognito meaningless.
The more I think about it, the more I overreacted when I first heard the news about the topic. Much of it had to do with Incognito being known around the league as a complete and utter asshole. He is not a likable players in the NFL or the media. When his name gets brought up around bullying? It is to believe he is a bully rather than flush out the topic due to his demeanor and overall attitude since college. If this were say Russell Wilson accuses of bullying, would people rush to criticize him like they did Incognito? Probably not rather they would try to find all of these facts out right away before burning him on the stake. I do not think Martin ruined Incognito's career, but this at least provides some solace for him in the upcoming years.
The last page of the whole thing is truly sad. Incognito seemed blindsided by the whole thing and wanted Martin to help him except for he was too chicken shit to fix what he had done. Martin believed Incognito to be a bully versus a friend whom might take things a little too far every now and again. Most of the time, actions speak louder than words, but in this case, the words provide nearly most of the context needed to figure out and end this story.
Charlie.
Post a Comment