DEVELOPING: Dolphins Fire OL Coach Turner And Trainer O'Neill As Incognito Fallout Continues...

You figured something like this would be happening sooner or later...

The buck stops where...???

Apparently, the Dolphins offensive line as the team has fired OL coach Jim Turner and head trainer Kevin O'Neill as part of the Richie Incognito fallout...

Here's part of the statement by the team:

“The language and behavior as described in the Ted Wells report are against the core values of our organization,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. “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. As owner, I know firsthand of the high-character and dedicated professionals in our building. I believe in our team and know the hard work and sacrifices they make every day on the field and in the community.”

O'Neill had been with the team for 18 years and Turner for 2. Ross went on to call the entire saga a "teaching moment."

Here's head coach Joe Philbin's statement:

“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."

The HQ still wonders how Philbin was unaware...

Here's WSVN's coverage from when the Wells Report was initially released...
WSVN-TV - 7NEWS Miam Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco

Wells Report Jumps All Over Incognito

((HT: nfldolphinsreport.com))

The National Football League commissioned Ted Wells and the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to independently investigate the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin to-do back in early November...

Wells is done and it doesn't back up all the Twitter carpet-bombing that Incognito did yesterday...

Wells admits that the conclusions are his but he feels, in part:

“The Report concludes that three starters on the Dolphins offensive line, Richie Incognito, John
Jerry and Mike Pouncey, engaged in a pattern of harassment directed at not only Jonathan Martin, but also
another young Dolphins offensive lineman and an assistant trainer. The Report finds that the assistant trainer
repeatedly was the object of racial slurs and other racially derogatory language; that the other offensive lineman
was subjected to homophobic name-calling and improper physical touching; and that Martin was taunted on a
persistent basis with sexually explicit remarks about his sister and his mother and at times ridiculed with racial
insults and other offensive comments.”

Some of the texts, especially regarding Martin's sister, are just disgusting...
The HQ will let you read them yourself and not re-print them...

Martin, in self-analysis, views himself as a pushover and even contemplated suicide.

Wells concludes that the behavior by the three is "consistent with workplace bullying."

Another Dolphins lineman was subject to more childish abuse and an assistant trainer was subject to really amateurish attempts at guy-humor. The trainer is of Japanese descent and was joked on Pearl Harbor Day that Pouncey and Martin would get revenge wearing rising sun headbands.

I mean, this stuff is just stupid... and Coach Philbin and his staff and the front office, as reported, DIDN'T KNOW???!!!

How is that even possible...???

Here's the report, thanks Deadspin...
Go ahead and read...

Paul Weiss Report

The HQ has read about a third of it... and we're stunned and disgusted...

If true, the whole Dolphins roster and front office need to be brought up as an example of how not to run a business...

Did Incognito's Run Of Words Extend To Staff...???

((HT: WSVN-TV))

NFL investigator Ted Wells had his first day on the Miami Dolphins campus today trying to get answers in the Richie Incognito situation...

Wells has started interviewing players and should do so for the next two days or so...

The National Football Post is reporting that Incognito and another Dolphins player mocked a Dolphins staffer and his ethnic wardrobe that he chose to wear to the offices...

From NFP:

A second source said that at least one other player joined in on the antics, creating an extremely uncomfortable environment for the staff member.

Worse, Incognito said on a number of occasions that the staff member’s wife had sexual relationships with several members of the team.

Here's the story from Davie...
WSVN-TV - 7NEWS Miam Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco

In the college ranks, this is called a "lack of institutional control..."

And this seems to be spiraling in a bunch of different directions...
Which is not good- even as Wells has barely started his question-and-answer sessions...

ICYMI: Latest on Dolphins Story: The Team Speaks and Other Updates

Admittedly, we are catching up on things here with the Miami Dolphins/Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito story, but they are nonetheless very interesting.

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin spoke to the massed media Wednesday afternoon. Aside from mentioning NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tasking special counsel Ted Wells to look into the issue, he did not go into any detail on the issue.

Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill said that Incognito was great in the locker room and one of the team leaders, he saw nothing to indicate there were issues. He also added that if anything happened to Martin on the field, "Richie was the 1st one to have his back". He also told the assembled mass that "If you asked Jonathan Martin who his best friend is on this team two weeks ago, he'd say Richie Incognito".

For those who've missed it, here's where things stand. Tuesday night, Omar Kelly of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported from at least 2 Dolphins sources that team coaches had encouraged Incognito to help "toughen up" Martin during the preseason.

No details on what that meant or how it was supposed to be interpreted, but the implication would be that there was a reason Incognito was on Martin's back so hard. The request came after Martin missed an offseason OTA (Organized Team Activity)

The catch being it appears he went to far.

Philbin addressed that by telling reporters that coaching players is to do what is "In their best interest to make them better players". When asked if he thought Martin was tough enough he said Martin "Came in here and worked hard every single day".

Read Kelly's Sun-Sentinel story RIGHT HERE

Amidst the reports of racially tinged texts/voice mails between Incognito and Martin comes a report from Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

Salguero says that most of the black players on the Dolphins team consider Incognito one of them. Or for lack of a better way to put it, an honorary black man. And many of those players did not say they disliked Martin, but rather, according to Salguero, they considered him soft. But does that justify going racial with Martin?

Read more on Salguero's Miami Herald story RIGHT HERE

And the latest is this: The league has appointed

The challenge here is to discern between hazing, teasing, and wanton aggressiveness. And the question is this: How do you prove any of those?

On the surface, yes, it appears multiple lines were crossed. And there should be repercussions for crossing them. But a Football Team is not a "Traditional Workplace".

It appears, based on multiple reports, Jonathan Martin had trouble adjusting to the NFL life. But that does not make him any less a victim. The NFL has a big issue on its hands here. How do you discipline for this?

How do you fire Incognito for doing what he was asked to do (though he may have gone too far)? Nobody seemed to be worried enough to stop it.

How do you make things better for an obviously talented kid (Martin), who appears more sensitive than the average NFL player? It should not mean there isn't a place for him, but how does he walk back into a locker room without being ostracized?

We've said before, an NFL locker room is not a perfect place. There are things done and said there that would not happen in other workplaces. Hazing happens in football, it has for decades. Not always to this extreme. Having rookie traditions is something that's happened for decades. And it happens in other sports.

How do you patrol this? That should be the job of the coaching staff. They are the managers. They are the bosses. Someone in this situation should have stepped up and said "Back Off." The problem is...nobody did.

Warren Sapp addressed going up against Incognito in a game... and didn't seem all that impressed...
((HT: Audience Network/Dan Patrick Show))


Next question:

Was there a vacuum in the discipline from the coaches on the Dolphins staff....???
Here's Rosh Lowe with the beginning of team coverage...???
((HT: WSVN-TV))
WSVN-TV - 7NEWS Miam Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco

So, to put the question in another context...

Who ordered the Code Red...???