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Former NFL offensive tackle Richie Incognito went on a tirade after his former Miami Dolphins teammate and accuser Jonathan Martin changed his stance on the infamous bullying scandal that led to his suspension in 2013.
“He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me. Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far,” Incognito wrote on his X account in response to a report that Marin said he "never believed for a second" that he was being bullied by his former teammate. “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!”
Incognito then shared several photos of himself and Martin seemingly having a friendly relationship while sarcastically referencing the bullying accusations.
Incognito then turned his attention to ProFootballTalk's report on the situation, accusing the outlet of attempting "to ruin my career over a lie."
"A decade later Jonathan Martin admits he was never bullied. His mother pushed the narrative of bullying to the media. Jonathan Martin never believed in the stance his camp was taking during the Ted Wells investigation. The NFL and the media ran with a false narrative, ruined careers, and moved on," Incognito wrote on his X account in response to the website's post.
Martin made his admission about the bullying scandal in an exclusive interview with ESPN published last week, reiterating that Incognito used derogatory and racial remarks, however, reframed the interactions as "a situation with my teammates that I wasn't super happy about" and claimed his mother, Jane, "had her own read on the situation."
"I hadn't even told my coaches, hadn't told anyone," Martin said. "And suddenly it's on ESPN, right? ... I never believed for a second I was being bullied. ... It's a story that I've been trying to fix for 10 years."
Incognito, who was coming off his first of four Pro Bowl seasons, received an indefinite suspension to conclude the 2013 season and didn't play the entire 2014 season before signing with the Buffalo Bills in 2015, having been selected to the Pro Bowl during each of the next three seasons. Martin made nine starts and 15 appearances for the San Francisco 49ers in 2014 before retiring.