Leadership!

A somewhat unfortunate story appeared on the Dolphins website earlier this year: “Richie Incognito Stepping Up As A Leader.”

This wasn’t just empty words, either:

The irony is Incognito was part of Miami’s six-player leadership counsel this year. He was expected to set an example.

What can get you recognized as a leader with the Dolphins is apparently bullying and harassment:

Transcripts of voice mail messages and text messages left for the Miami Dolphins’ Jonathan Martin by teammate Richie Incognito indicate a pattern of racial epithets and profane language.

Multiple sources confirmed to ESPN that the following is a transcript of a voice message Incognito left for Martin in April 2013, a year after Martin was drafted:

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

Running players off the team — now that’s leadership. But while Incognito’s style might be particular to him, a lot of the bullying of Martin reflects practices that are much more common:

Young Dolphins players are under pressure to dig deep into their pockets to pay for veterans’ social outings, a practice that is straining their finances and locker room chemistry, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

These allegations come on the heels of an ESPN report Sunday morning that Incognito pressured Martin into paying $15,000 for an unofficial team vacation to Las Vegas — a trip that Martin, an offensive tackle, didn’t even join.

[…]

The source characterized Dolphins veterans using younger players as ATMs to finance their nightlife whims. These older players have been caught up in the fast-paced Miami lifestyle without the burden of having to pay for it, the source continued.

Multiple sources plugged into the organization agree that it’s happening in Miami — but it’s not just a Dolphins issue: It happens league-wide, and organizations and the players’ union know all about it. They simply don’t care, another source said.

Demanding that rookies repeatedly pick up the tabs for veterans isn’t bonding or team-building; it’s just rank exploitation. The difference between this the other stuff Incognito did is one of degree, not kind, and if Martin didn’t leave the team over it nobody with the Dolphins management would have cared in the least.

…a useful history of Incognito from Robert Mays.