Richie Incognito case suggests that there is a statute of limitations on "plausible deniability"

As we may recall, Riley Cooper of the Philadelphia Eagles was seen and heard using racial epithets and issuing physical threats to a group of blacks on the other side of a fence at a Country music concert (like that’s a surprise). However, save for bad publicity, Cooper has not only been unpunished, but his previously unimpressive career has actually been given a boost, thanks to coach Chip Kelly’s “forgive and forget” for the team, and quarterback Nick Foles’ patronage. 

Now, I’m not saying that the “street” or gang-influenced attitude of some black players does not disturb more bourgeois teammates. But let’s face it: If you listen to Country music, you cannot but be “influenced” by its “whites only” signpost—or listen to it for precisely that reason. And there is no doubt that in a league where many teams have super-majorities of black players (like the Seattle Seahawks), there is some grumbling from more Coopers who haven’t been caught on video or audio expressing their cornpone opinions. 

Now comes the story about Miami Dolphins’ lineman Richie Incognito’s bullying and use of racial slurs directed at second-year teammate  Jonathan Martin.  This included the following “anonymous” phone message from Incognito:

"Hey, wassup, you half n----- piece of s---. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s--- in your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F--- you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you."

There were also reports that Martin was the victim of extortion from some teammates for “gifts” other than an expensive meal. The “last straw” was fellow linemen displaying exaggerated contempt by leaving the lunchroom table when he approached to sit with them. Martin had not spoken to anyone on the team about the phone messages; no doubt he viewed this behavior as emblematic of the attitude of his teammates as a whole, and that the racial prejudice against him, at least by the linemen, was both pervasive and condoned, and thus became more personal. Martin then left the team, which listed him out because of “illness.” 

Incognito was a “leader” on the team, and perhaps he did feel that Martin needed to “toughen up.” Or it may have been that Martin—who was reportedly an excellent student in college, unlike Incognito, who was kicked out of two colleges—seemed “aloof” from some of his teammates, particular the kind with the out-of-control personality that Incognito possessed. 

It has been reported that Incognito has had a “colorful” career, beginning at least from his college days. People often cloak manic behavior as “feisty” or “intense”—especially on the football field, when in fact it is something else. Incognito’s coaches at the University of Nebraska were certainly concerned enough to send him to the Menninger Clinic for a psychiatric evaluation and counseling. It didn’t work, and in September 2004, following incidents that included throwing a teammate through a wall at a party, he was dismissed from the team. A week later, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti brought him in on condition that he control his behavior; he lasted all of one week, for violating unspecified team rules. 

Because Incognito had obvious talent and drive, and good offensive lineman are not easy to come by, the NFL came calling as it often did for talented but troubled players. The fact that he has lasted nine years in the league is a testament to the fact that there are certain things teams will tolerate in players, so long as it doesn’t involve the law. He was one of the most penalized players in the league, often for personal fouls; he seem to instigate incidents in which opponents who retaliated were punished, but he got away scot-free. He bullied teammates when he thought he could get away with it, and in 2009 he was voted the “dirtiest” player in the league in one poll.

But it is one thing to be unable to control physical behavior on the football field; it is quite another to direct ugly racial slurs at a teammate who doesn’t deserve such behavior. It makes you wonder what is going on in his mind. Interestingly, Incognito has tweeted that he’d like to know the “coward” who released the phone messages without giving his name; but like all bullies, Incognito was “cowardly” in not identifying himself on the messages or repeating the slurs to Martin to his face.

The Dolphins have suspended Incognito, but why he has been allowed to hang around so long (much like Cooper has actually been “rewarded” for his racist attitude) suggests that some behavior is “condoned” only until it becomes public knowledge. People may act “racist,” but they can claim that they are not so long as they don’t make racial comments—the “plausible deniability” factor.  With Incognito, “plausible” explanations for his behavior simply ran out of credibility.