Miami Dolphins players considered Richie Incognito “honorary black man”

Richie-Incognito

As more and more details begin to poor out regarding the Miami Dolphins locker room issues, specifically those involving offensive linemen, Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, you can believe that the culture of the NFL will once again be front and center. Several Miami Dolphins players, both on and off the record, have come out in support of Incognito.

In addition to that, some players have stated that not not only is Incognito not a racist, he’s considered an “honorary black man.”

“I don’t have a problem with Richie,” Mike Wallace said. “I love Richie.”

“I don’t think Richie is a racist,” cornerback Brent Grimes said.

“Richie Incognito isn’t a racist,” tight end Michael Egnew said.

ESPN analyst and former Dolphins wide receiver Cris Carter today said on air he recently spoke to Mike Pouncey and the center, who is Incognito’s friend, addressed race.

“They don’t feel as if he’s a racist, they don’t feel as if he picked on Jonathan repeatedly and bullied him, but if they could do it all over again there would be situations that they might change but they’re very, very comfortable with Richie,” Carter said.

“They think it’s sad, not only that Jonathan’s not on the football team, but also that Richie is being depicted as a bigot and as a racist.”

How is this possible?

Well, I’ve spoken to multiple people today about this and the explanation from all of them is that in the Dolphins locker room, Richie Incognito was considered a black guy. He was accepted by the black players. He was an honorary black man.

And Jonathan Martin, who is bi-racial, was not. Indeed, Martin was considered less black than Incognito.

“Richie is honarary,” one player who left the Dolphins this offseason told me today. “I don’t expect you to understand because you’re not black. But being a black guy, being a brother is more than just about skin color. It’s about how you carry yourself. How you play. Where you come from. What you’ve experienced. A lot of things.”

While some are shaking their heads in disbelief, that the conversation exists about “honorary brothers,” the reality is, once someone is considered family- and in this case, it’s obvious that a lot in that Dolphins locker room felt Incognito was like a brother – the same restrictions that one places in an outsider are lifted. There are several reasons for this but it’s mainly because they feel as if they know that person’s heart. Their belief system, etc. So they believe that there is no malice or ill will in certain words or actions because they know the real.

People extend hood passes daily.

A special commission is being put together to investigate the incidents.