The Rise and Fall of an NFL Player

            The story of Richie Incognito has been a captivating one.  From the sudden and dramatic exit of teammate Jonathan Martin from the Miami Dolphins to four months worth of damaging voicemails, texts, and an independent report all pointing to Incognito as the instigator for the worst kind of workplace bullying, it’s filled the sports pages with a look into a locker room culture few are ever exposed to. It's also created an interesting case study into the damaging effects on reputation among sports figures in an age in which the news breaks quicker, social media allows for a digital imprint of bad behavior, and in which poor decision making can result in a nation-wide reprimand through online public attacks.

In today’s world you’re quickly judged in the realm of public opinion before you can often even respond to the story, and rectifying one’s online reputation can be daunting at best especially for those who were largely unknown before the damage was done.  Here’s a quick roundup of the events of the past four months to shed a light into the fall of Incognito’s reputation and the digital footprint it’s left behind:

 

·      News breaks Jonathan Martin has exited the Dolphins – ESPN’s source claims “he just snapped.”  http://es.pn/1jLvYZj

·      @jeffdarlington from NFL.com reports on Twitter: “Richie Incognito was advised by Joe Philbin tonight he has been indefinitely suspended by team while NFL investigates."

·      ESPN's Adam Schefter obtains transcript of threatening voicemail with racial slurs that Incognito allegedly left Martin.  http://huff.to/1mdq4Sz

·      More troubling new, police report surfaces, claims suspended Dolphins lineman Incognito harassed a women at a golf outing.  http://bit.ly/1fjAzlp

·      Incognito gives first interview to Fox Sports, claims “I am not a racist.”  http://foxs.pt/1oVMM3L

·      Jonathan Martin gives first interview to NBC, states he felt “trapped” by bullying. http://nbcnews.to/1fbwuwP

·      Over a 1,000 text messages between Incognito and Martin are made available, constant themes of racial discrimination, degradation of women, sexually explicit threats towards Martin's sister and mother, and harassing of teammates abound.  http://bit.ly/1boZdPG

·      Investigator Ted Wells commissioned by the NFL, produces 144 page report citing constant harassment and derogatory slurs of Martin, teammate, and assistant trainer, with Incognito as the main instigator alongside two other players.  http://on.nfl.com/1hadvnR

·      Richie Incognito takes to Twitter to respond to Wells Report asks to “stop the bullying” and angrily denounces Wells report before quitting Twitter.  http://usat.ly/1eWPiOr

·      Richie Incognito returns to Twitter on apologetic tour to fans, Martin, and agent. http://usat.ly/OdUFDW

·      NFL teams state few if any options remain for Incognito despite apologies.  http://usat.ly/1d48f27

CHANGING THE PLAYING FIELD

             The biggest saga playing out in the sports world this week has been that of the Missouri Tigers' former defensive end, and future NFL draft pick Michael Sam openly announcing to the world he’s gay.  The headlines have covered most of the drama from Sam “conquering the final frontier” and “rewriting the script for young athletes” to the opposition labeling the young star as having “stock dropping fast” while NFL executives anonymously cite “distractions and uncomfortable teammates” as potential problems for Sam.  The saga has made superstars out of some remarks like sportscaster Dale Hansen, whose on the air speech condemning the NFL has gone viral (http://bit.ly/1fZ3Lfg) while circulating others like The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart rant on the hypocrisy of an organization that accepts criminal behaviors, but admonishes someone’s sexual orientation (http://bit.ly/1bmjp7p).  All of this while generating a lot of water cooler talk about workplace environments and the tolerance of discrimination as reported from the players’ themselves in Andrea Kramer’s piece inside the NFL's locker room (http://on.nfl.com/1gEgPaC).  This in turn only generating more popular support for stories like that of rookie Jonathan Martin who felt so uncomfortable playing for the NFL he left the dream job entirely.

http://i.imgur.com/gDpLyZT.jpg

            While each storyline lends itself to big picture discussions on cultural dynamics, human rights, and workplace discrimination issues, what I found most compelling were actually a few lines Michael Sam was quoted as saying to The New York Times, “I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it…..No one else should tell my story but me” (http://nyti.ms/1fWMANA). Going on to say that he didn’t want to be known just as the first gay athlete, but rather for his good character.  For all of the publicity surrounding the event and the talk of paving new civil rights lines, a young 20-something Sam has grasped what many before him in sports haven’t: owning one's brand.   

            Sam is likely to have grown up watching the epic falls from grace of billion dollar athletes like Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.  These top level players found themselves sitting in countless interview chairs and making publicity rounds not because they wanted to, but rather to apologize and to plead to their fans for forgiveness, forgiveness for hiding behind a false identity, for a history of lying and bad behavior, for their poor sense of entitlement, for presenting an image to the public that they themselves never once lived by.  To many, these household names have made a mockery of their sports and their personal brands and as a result of their bad behavior have watched not only sponsors drop out, but left many lifelong fans feeling disgraced by their once biggest idols.  

Source: http://bit.ly/1lF4qWG

Michael Sam in contrast is comfortable with the man he is and not afraid of any repercussions that might erupt from projecting his inner self outward, even if it might mean less money or having to work harder to prove his skills to earn a coveted NFL spot.   While his sport may be one of team over individual as opposed to that of golf and cycling, he has shown wisdom beyond his years in taking the driver seat at the onset of his career.  He controlled the message and the medium, and understood that he could either be sitting in that chair after a tabloid rag made a few bucks off of photographing him one night in an embrace with another man, or he could sit there as an athlete at the top of his game, with a team in the Midwestern heartland that respected and stood behind him knowing full well his sexual identity all season-long, and who’s excited about his future and the role he can have in inspiring other young people.   

Any NFL team should be proud to welcome him into their locker room, forget the publicity, forget the team dynamics, forget the history making, if the NFL needs a reason to push aside the interest of the press and take stock in the skills of this young athlete let it be because he has truly proven himself as a professional as much on the field as he is off.  Will it be complicated? Yes.  Will it be new territory to navigate? Yes.  Will the press be knocking at the door a lot initially? Yes.  But eventually the storyline will fade, the season will get underway, reporters will run out of things to spew on the subject of being gay in the NFL, and a lucky NFL team will not only have one of the most talented defensive linemen in the game, but also a leader, a role model, and a guy whose jersey is going to sell well to kids around the country.  Given the reputation of the NFL for being known more as the “National Felons League” than the “National Football League” a man with good character, a lot of heart, and a positive self-image entering its doors, who can not only play football, but play it extremely well, well that my friends is something to write home about.