Oakland Raiders offensive lineman Richie Incognito opened up about his disruptive past in a recent interview on “HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.”
During the interview Tuesday night, Incognito denied that he ever bullied then-teammate Jonathan Martin when they both were members of the Miami Dolphins and said drugs and alcohol-fueled his 2018 arrest at an Arizona funeral home.
The 36-year-old said, “I did not drive him out of the league,” he said. “I believe his mental health issues and his demons in his past drove him out of the league.”
As some may recall, an investigation into the Dolphins locker room back in 2013 found that Incognito sent disturbing messages with racial and homophobic slurs to Martin. The investigation also found that Incognito referred to Martin’s sister in sexually graphic terms and reports say he allegedly threatened to kill Martin. The Dolphins ended up suspending Incognito indefinitely.
At that time, Martin also abruptly took a leave of absence from the team under psychological duress, playing only one more season before he deciding to retire.
Incognito claimed that the investigation incorrectly cast him as a racist and homophobic. “It was obviously something I regret,” Incognito said. “It’s the one line I can’t cross. Sometimes you say the worst things to the people closest to you. But I definitely don’t feel like that makes me a racist person.”
In the interview, Incognito also spoke about his arrest last year August at an Arizona funeral home, while making funeral arrangements for his father. Police say that Incognito threatened to shoot people and it was also reported that he told employees that he wanted his dad’s head cut off to use for research purposes. When police arrived on the scene, they seized several guns from his car, and he was arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct.
“I never thought (about using the guns) one bit,” Incognito said. “I made a finger gesture like this (shows his index and middle fingers pointed out and his thumb up) … ‘I’m going to go to the vehicle. I’ll be right back.’ My intention was to go to the vehicle and grab my father’s medical records to come in and show them.”
The offensive lineman also said that drugs and alcohol-fueled the behavior that led to his arrest.
Incognito did not play in the NFL in 2018 but has had his fair share of second chances and made his season debut last Sunday facing the Minnesota Vikings, after serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
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