In 2013, Jonathan Martin accused his Dolphins teammates, particularly Richie Incognito, of bullying him, sparking the “Bullygate” scandal. Now, more than a decade later, Martin has admitted that his claims were false—stating that Incognito never bullied him and that the stories surrounding Bullygate were false.
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Martin’s latest admission has resurfaced memories of the controversy and reignited discussions about bullying, false accusations, and locker room culture. During the latest episode of The Pivot Podcast, Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor revisited the scandal, reflecting on its impact and the broader conversation around bullying in Sports.
Clark believes that when the scandal first broke, the media reports heavily favored Martin’s version of events, painting the locker room as a lawless jungle and the players as “Neanderthals.”
However, unlike his co-hosts, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor, Clark doesn’t see Richie Incognito as a victim—but he also doesn’t believe he was a bully. Instead, he feels that Martin’s struggles with mental health and his inability to handle locker room ribbing and harmless pranks allowed a minor issue to spiral into a full-blown scandal.
“I don’t think Richie Incognito is a victim. I think everybody had to suffer some wrong because of Jonathan Martin’s mental health struggles, and his immaturity.”
Clark also pointed out that Martin let his mother speak on his behalf, introducing the term “bullying” into the conversation and fueling the controversy. By the time Martin realized how far things had gone, it was too late to take back the accusations that had unfairly painted Incognito in a negative light.
Now, more than a decade later, Clark finds it frustrating that Martin is attempting to rewrite the narrative to regain control of his life—especially when the damage to Incognito’s reputation has already been done. But what does Richie Incognito think about Martin taking back the words that nearly destroyed his reputation?
The former Bills Offensive Lineman took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his outrage over this issue. He called out his former teammate for his inability to make it in the NFL and used him as a way to get out by letting his mother falsely blame him.
“He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me. Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie! They lied to protect his money. He quit… the team had every right to claw back that money. His mom started the bullying narrative so that Miami Dolphins wouldn’t go after his signing bonus!”
Incognito faced accusations of sending threatening messages and voicemails to Jonathan Martin, which included a racial slur, a death threat, and threats of violence against Martin’s mother. These allegations were made public by Martin’s family. Additionally, Incognito was accused of coercing Martin into giving him $15,000 for a Las Vegas trip that Martin was reluctant to attend.
Incognito labeled these claims as “slander,” but the Miami Dolphins swiftly suspended him for conduct detrimental to the team after the voicemail surfaced. Reports later indicated that Dolphins coaches had instructed Incognito to “toughen up” Martin. An investigation led by the NFL’s Ted Wells uncovered a pattern of harassment by Incognito, along with teammates Mike Pouncey and John Jerry, against Martin.
Following these events, Martin requested a trade in March, while Incognito remained unsigned until he returned to the NFL in 2015 with the Buffalo Bills, continuing to face controversies throughout his career.
While Clark spoke diplomatically about the whole scandal, co-host Crowder didn’t hold back, ferociously calling out Martin for his actions.
Channing Crowder tears into Jonathan Martin
Having shared a locker room with Richie Incognito, Channing Crowder never believed the reports surrounding “Bullygate.” He didn’t think Incognito bullied his fellow linemen.
While Crowder acknowledged that Incognito arrived in Miami with an Alpha-male mentality and loved pushing his teammates’ buttons, he also pointed out that Richie backed down if you stood up to him. He wasn’t the villain the media and Martin made him out to be.
What frustrates Crowder the most is how long it took Martin to set the record straight.
“That was his thing. He wanted to be a bully, he wanted to be an Alpha male. But to the point about Jonathan Martin, I’m upset he took so long to come out and tell the truth. You cannot be bullied as a grown as* man in the locker room.”
Instead, Crowder sees the situation as a simple clash of personalities. Incognito was a tough, gritty player who thrived in the trenches and didn’t mind stirring things up, while Martin was a soft-spoken, private school kid who wasn’t built for that kind of environment.
It’s great to see Jonathan Martin finally owning up to his mistake and setting the record straight. But the damage has already been done. But can Incognito really be cleared of all charges because Martin doesn’t see his actions as bullying anymore?
