{"id":1192,"date":"2013-11-05T13:45:02","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T18:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigredsportsmachine.com\/?p=1192"},"modified":"2018-09-01T21:58:43","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T01:58:43","slug":"tuesday-teabag-november-5-2013-richie-incognito","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/?p=1192","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday Teabag, November 5, 2013 – Richie Incognito"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"O'Doyle<\/a>

O’Doyle Rules!!!<\/p><\/div>\n

When is too much of a good thing bad?\u00a0 Look no further than this week\u2019s Tuesday Teabag Award recipient, Richie Incognito.\u00a0 Richie took an innocent thing that is rookie pranks (or hazing if you\u2019re a liberal with no sense of humor) to a whole new level, and in the process is the first player banned for being a bully. #thisaintyourdaddysnfl<\/p>\n

Bullying is all the rage in high school, prompting an outpour of anti-bullying campaigns.\u00a0 #bulliesaremean\u00a0#stopitdouche.\u00a0 [sidebar:\u00a0 The Machine (not so) fondly remembers being ridiculed for our (sweet looking) ginger locks EVERY DAY in high school\u2026way to come late to the party you anti-bullying freaks].\u00a0 I guess it shouldn\u2019t be a surprise that this behavior exists outside of high school, and it shouldn\u2019t be any surprise that this type of behavior exists in an NFL locker room.\u00a0 But Richie took it to a whole new level.<\/p>\n

Last week, it was announced that Miami Dolphin Jonathon Martin, a second year pro out of Stanford, took a leave of absence from the team after suffering an \u201cemotional breakdown\u201d in the lunch room after he was teased by other players.\u00a0 [sidebar:\u00a0 NFL teams have lunch rooms?\u00a0 Shit, it really is like high school.]\u00a0 As soon as this story broke, The Machine thought two things:\u00a0 (1) there\u2019s way more to this story, and (2) Richie Incognito\u2019s involved.<\/p>\n

Why would we think Richie\u2019s involved?\u00a0 First, one look at the guy screams \u201cuncontrollable rage\u201d and \u201cmeathead\u201d.\u00a0 Then, there\u2019s this<\/a>.\u00a0 And this<\/a>.\u00a0 And this<\/a>.\u00a0 And this<\/a>.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a nice timeline of his dickbag behavior<\/a>.\u00a0 Oh, and Richie is annually rated as one of the most dirtiest players in the NFL<\/a>.\u00a0 Yeah, he\u2019s a special kind of asshole.\u00a0 However, when the story first broke, we thought maybe Martin\u2019s a bit over-sensitive and that his tenure at Stanford didn\u2019t really prepare him for the good-natured ribbing that goes on in the NFL.\u00a0 Then, we learned that Richie (allegedly) forced Martin to pay $15k<\/a> to cover the cost for a trip to Las Vegas (that Martin didn\u2019t even go on).\u00a0 Then, we learned that Richie (allegedly) left the following voice message to Martin<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Hey, wassup, you half\u00a0n—– piece of s—. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s— in your f—ing\u00a0mouth. [I’m going to] slap your f—ing mouth. [I’m going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F— you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.”<\/p>\n

Wowee.\u00a0 And, we\u2019re willing to bet that\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg.\u00a0 The Machine\u2019s money is on a treasure trove of incriminating evidence against Richie.\u00a0 It\u2019s a combination of (a) Richie\u2019s that dumb to leave voice messages and probably texts and e-mails too, and (b) Martin\u2019s that smart to keep it all.<\/p>\n

And Miami had no choice but to suspend Incognito, especially after the (alleged) voice message that made Riley Cooper look like choir boy.\u00a0 You know that, for the Dolphins to suspend him, the conduct had to be egregious by any reasonable standard.<\/p>\n

Why is that?\u00a0 Because the NFL (and every sports league in the world) tolerates a certain level of hazing.\u00a0 You always hear of rookies being tied to the goalposts, or having to carry the veterans\u2019 shoulder pads to practice, or picking up the dinner tab for the team.\u00a0 These things are reported almost matter-of-factly.\u00a0 Of course that\u2019s going to happen, and we\u2019re ok with that.\u00a0 These are grown ass millionaires, and the rookies need to be taught a lesson by the veterans.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about respect.\u00a0 But, too much of a good thing can be bad.\u00a0 And in this case, the \u201cgood thing\u201d has turned into harassment.<\/p>\n

True to his character, Richie refuses to stand down, and, instead of keeping a low profile, has taken to Twitter to defend himself\/threaten\u00a0the media:<\/p>\n

@AdamSchefter<\/a> Enough is enough If you or any of the agents you sound off for have a problem with me, you know where to find me #BRINGIT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Richie incognito (@68INCOGNITO) November 3, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

@espn<\/a>\u00a0shame on you for attaching my name to false speculation. I won’t be holding my breathe for an apology<\/p>\n

\u2014 Richie incognito (@68INCOGNITO) November 3, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

@AdamSchefter<\/a> Stop slandering my name. You hide behind “sources” who are not man enough to put their name behind the BS you report<\/p>\n

\u2014 Richie incognito (@68INCOGNITO) November 3, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

@espn<\/a> @CBSSports<\/a> @NBCSports<\/a> @FOXSports<\/a> @ProFootballTalk<\/a> I want my name CLEARED<\/p>\n

\u2014 Richie incognito (@68INCOGNITO) November 3, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019re going to go out on a limb here and say that threatening people on social media is probably not the best way to go about restoring your name.\u00a0 We’re also willing to bet that Richie\u2019s played his last game in the NFL (imminent departure alert:\u00a0 we bet the Dolphins release him by the end of the week).\u00a0 But don\u2019t give them too much credit.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy for the Dolphins and the league to come down hard on him\u2026it\u2019s 100% clear he\u2019s in the wrong, just like it\u2019s easy to cut the bench player that gets popped for a DWI but not the star player.<\/p>\n

Clearly someone in the front office watches Glee, because it looks like they\u2019re taking this seriously, however the question remains:\u00a0 are they really taking it seriously, or are they forced to because of the severity of it?\u00a0 There are broader questions here for the league to answer.\u00a0 What about other \u201cnormal\u201d rookie participation events, like being tied to the goalpost, carrying shoulder pads, and getting stuck with the dinner bill?\u00a0 How far is the NFL going to go to police this conduct?\u00a0 What about last year, when JPP\u00a0threw Prince Amukamara <\/a>in the cold tub because Prince was perceived as \u201csoft.\u201d\u00a0 Is that too much?\u00a0 Where do you draw the line?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to draw the line with Richie (surprisingly, he still has some supporters <\/a>in the locker room).\u00a0 The league must be (silently) happy that it\u2019s this clear-cut.\u00a0 But what about the (soon to be organized) group of people (likely the same people who want Redskins changed) that will argue for anti-bullying laws?\u00a0 Will the league step in and regulate other conduct that has historically been tolerated\/encouraged as “team-building exercises”?\u00a0 We\u2019re willing to bet that the average NFL fan (and player) would not be in favor of banning (or regulating) the other conduct mentioned above.\u00a0 It would be viewed by many as a further wussification of the NFL.\u00a0 A place where tolerance and individuality are appreciated? \u00a0Fuck that, carry my bags rook.<\/p>\n

And, something that\u2019s being overlooked here, but the Dolphins played off of Richie\u2019s bad-boy behavior?\u00a0 What do we mean?\u00a0 Here\u2019s the pre-game video played before Dolphins games:<\/p>\n