Vindication! Finally!
Jonathan Martin left the Miami Dolphins at the end of last year because he claimed he was being bullied. Well, an independent report, aka the Ted Wells report, was released on Friday, and as a result the Fins have fired Jim Turner, their offensive line coach, and Kevin O’Neill, the head athletics trainer for 18 years.
In addition to Martin, the Wells report found that there was another player who had been bullied by a specific group of men too. ESPN reported:
├óΓé¼┼ôThe Wells report, released Friday by the NFL investigator stated that Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was subjected to “a pattern of harassment” that included racial slurs and vicious sexual taunts about his mother and sister by three teammates. Martin left the team at midseason.
The 144-page report said Richie Incognito, who was suspended by the team in November, and fellow offensive linemen John Jerry and Mike Pouncey harassed Martin, while another offensive lineman Andrew McDonald, and an assistant trainer also routinely came under attack, the investigation found.”
According to the report, O’Neill would laugh at players Incognito, Pouncey, and Jerry as they hurled racial slurs at O’Neill’s Japan-born assistant.
As a result, O’Neill is now unemployed!
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross gave a statement about all of the bullying, saying:
“The language and behavior as described in the Ted Wells report are against the core values of our organization. After receiving the report, I conducted my own internal review of the facts to determine the appropriate steps for our organization. Jim Turner and Kevin O’Neill are good people who care a great deal about their profession and the players whom they serve, but both exhibited poor judgment at times which led me to this conclusion.”
At least they took action and didn’t just try to sweep all of this under the rug!
The Fins’ head coach Joe Philbin also took some blame, stating:
“As the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, it is my responsibility to create an atmosphere that allows each player the opportunity to reach his full potential. As Stephen Ross said, and I agree, the language and behavior outlined in Ted Wells’ report was disappointing and unacceptable.
“Since I first arrived in Miami, it has been my goal to have a team which honors our proud tradition and represents our fan base the right way both on and off the field. It is not possible for a team to accomplish its goals when the fundamental values of respect are violated. That ultimately rests on my shoulders and I will be accountable moving forward for making sure that we emphasize a team-first culture of respect towards one another.”
Great! They got some bad-seed leadership out of the locker room. So what happens now with Martin?
Philbin said he has been in contact with him, and that they will try to meet soon.
After all of those texts between Martin and Incognito were released, we were curious to see what this report would find.
In the end, hopefully the Dolphins locker room is a healthier environment to be in going forward.
[Image via AP Images.]
Related Posts
-
Categories
