Jonathan Martin was physically attacked by a Miami Dolphins teammate and was told a teammate was going to have sex with his sister as he endured a season and a half of harassment and taunting, according to a letter released by his lawyer Thursday.
Not only does the statement dispute the assertion made by many that Martin lacked the fortitude to survive in an NFL locker room, it identifies one of the abusive comments he allegedly suffered at the hands of his teammates.
"Jonathan Martin’s toughness is not at issue," the statement from attorney David Cornwell begins (via NBCSports' ProFootballTalk). "Jonathan has started every game with the Miami Dolphins since he was drafted in 2012. At Stanford, he was the anchor for Jim Harbaugh's 'smash mouth' brand of football and he protected Andrew Luck’s blind side."
Martin has been conspicuously silent since he abruptly left the Miami Dolphins last week following a prank in the team's cafeteria.
Allegations surfaced earlier this week that Richie Incognito sent Martin, his teammate on the Dolphins’ offensive line, racist and threatening text messages. The Dolphins suspended Incognito indefinitely on Sunday for conduct detrimental to the team.
"The issue is Jonathan's treatment by his teammates. Jonathan endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing. For the entire season and a half that he was with the Dolphins, he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope that doing so would end the harassment. This is a textbook reaction of victims of bullying," The attorney's letter reads. "Despite these efforts, the taunting continued. Beyond the well-publicized voicemail with its racial epithet, Jonathan endured a malicious physical attack on him by a teammate, and daily vulgar comments such as the quote at the bottom. These facts are not in dispute."
According to Cornwell, the vulgar taunt Martin received related to his sister.
U.S. & World
"Quote from teammate: 'We are going to run train on your sister. . . . She loves me. I am going to f–k her without a condom and c– in her c—,'" Cornwell wrote.
The statement does not specify which teammate allegedly made the comment.
ProFootballTalk reported late Wednesday that Martin's agent Kenny Zuckerman called GM Jeff Ireland after Martin left the team and issued a complaint to Ireland about the way Incognito had treated Martin.
According to PFT, Ireland told Zuckerman that Martin should confront Incognito, adding that he should "punch" the veteran guard and member of the team's player leadership council.
Cornwell said Martin decided it would be best to leave the team.
"Eventually, Jonathan made a difficult choice. Despite his love for football, Jonathan left the Dolphins. Jonathan looks forward to getting back to playing football. In the meantime, he will cooperate fully with the NFL investigation," Cornwell wrote.
Meanwhile, an Aventura Police report released Friday claims Incognito harassed a woman at a Dolphins golf tournament in Aventura last year.
According to the report, Incognito allegedly used a golf club to touch the woman's privates and emptied a water bottle in her face during the tournament at the Turnberry Resort and Club.
The woman reported the incident to police but Incognito was never arrested.
More NBC6.com Stories:
