Former NFL offensive lineman Jonathan Martin is walking back allegations that he was bullied by his ex-teammate Richie Incognito while the two were with the Dolphins.
The 2013 scandal shook up the NFL community and led to Incognito being suspended.
But nearly 12 years later, Martin is setting the record straight.
“I never believed for a second I was being bullied,” Martin recently told ESPN. “It’s a story that I’ve been trying to fix for 10 years.”
Martin, whom the Dolphins drafted in the second round in 2012, missed multiple practices in 2013, his second season in the NFL.
Subsequent reports emerged that Martin had stormed out of the team’s cafeteria as a result of constant teasing by his teammates, and the Dolphins became embroiled in a bullying controversy.
The Dolphins soon after suspended Incognito for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
And the NFL then retained lawyer Ted Wells to investigate the incident, and his Feb. 14, 2014 report found that Incognito, along with two other offensive linemen — Mike Pouncey and John Jerry — had engaged in a pattern of harᴀssment of Martin.
The report added that Martin had checked himself into a hospital and that his mother had flown across the country to be with him.
Incognito missed the second half of the 2013-14 season and the entire 2014-15 season due to his suspension stemming from the incident.
Now, Martin is blaming his parents for escalating the situation beyond what he desired.
“I had a situation with my teammates that I wasn’t super happy about,” Martin told the outlet. “But my mother had her own read on the situation.”
“I hadn’t even told my coaches, hadn’t told anyone,” Martin added. “And suddenly it’s on ESPN, right? I didn’t believe any of the stances I was taking, right, where I’m this victim. I wasn’t a victim, right? And, again, it’s been a point of consternation.
“My mother maybe in her mind — I can’t read her mind — she thought she was doing the right thing.”
Martin was traded to the 49ers the offseason after the allegations were revealed.
He played 15 games for the 49ers in 2014-15, but retired the following offseason after a training camp stint with the Panthers, citing a back injury that could have forced him to miss the 2015-16 season.
Incognito, after his suspension was lifted, signed with the Bills and played three seasons with the team before spending two years with the Raiders.
He responded to Martin’s recent comments on X on Sunday.
“Well… well… well…,” Incognito wrote in one post.
“Made up by Johnathan Martin’s mother and father!” he wrote in another post.
“He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me,” he added in a third post. “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 with @espn @AdamSchefter so that @MiamiDolphins wouldn’t go after his signing bonus!”
Martin’s mother, Jane, declined to speak with ESPN, though his father, Gus, did.
“His mom and I did strongly intervene,” Gus Martin told the outlet. “To make sure he was protected.”
Gus Martin defended he and Jane’s decision to intervene by playing a voicemail Incognito allegedly left for their son at the time.
“Hey, wᴀssup, you half-n—-r piece of s–t,” Incognito allegedly said in the message. “I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. I’ll s–t in your f—ing mouth. I’m going to slap your f—ing mouth, I’m going to slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F—k you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.”
Though the incident strained Martin’s relationship with his parents, he says they’ve reconciled.
“She wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt me,” Martin said of his mother.
