Incognito vs. Martin

Over the last couple of weeks the story that has dominated the whole ESPN family of networks, has been the alleged bullying scandal of Johnathon Martin by teammate Richie Incognito. After the first week of information was released I would have assumed that it would have been impossible for a player in Incognito's position to ever save his reputation and career in the NFL. However, after seeing the interview on FOX today, which was Incognito's  first chance to give his side, I think he may have a chance.

I don't know if I have ever heard a voice mail that was as racist or down right disrespectful then the one that Incognito left on Johnathon Martin's phone. The use of the N-word and death threats are just some of the issues with that one way conversation. Also, Incognito has not exactly been a poster child for the NFL in his past. He was even voted dirtiest player in the league by his NFL peers. Taking all this into account it is easy to see how Incognito would be a perfect person to be thrown under the bus in a situation where Martin could not handle the culture in the locker room, but after today's interview he may have taken the first step in proving his innocence.

The interviewer did not hold back and asked many tough question. Incognito, who is obviously under a lot of pressure, answered every question carefully and even gave hard evidence to back up his comments. One example of this evidence is actual text conversation's between he and Martin since the controversy began. Those text messages proved that Incognito and Martin were actually good friend which some of the early reports stated. By giving hard evidence Incognito used the truth and actual words from both side of the controversy to start to change his reputation with the public.

To continue this reputation change Incognito must apologize for some of the actions that have been reported and make sure the public knows he understands his mistakes and is willing to make changes. He could possibly escape this crazy controversy with is reputation with the media and the fans still intact, if he continues to answer questions carefully and speak the truth.