“The man of many shades” – The long-standing history of Richie Incognito’s controversial career
Follow Us
Richie Incognito
Richie Incognito, an offensive guard for the Las Vegas Raiders has announced that he is retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons. This announcement came via the team’s Twitter account. He talked about his future plans after retirement and how thankful he was for the Raiders for giving him an opportunity despite his stained reputation in the league.
“It felt like home the minute I got here. I’d played so long, and I’d gotten this “bad boy” reputation, but it just fit with the Raiders. They trusted who I was, and they let me play. And I played my ass off just to repay them for the opportunity,” Richie said.
Richie Incognito’s bullying dates back to his college days
Richie Incognito was no stranger to the spotlight during his stint in the NFL. While he was recognized for his extraordinary performance in games, more often than not, he was ruling the headline for his many controversies. A pattern of bullying came forward back in 2013 when Miami Dolphins Jonathan Martin accused Richie of harassment. During the Dolphins’ internal investigation, a voicemail left by Richie made the accusations towards him into a reality.
“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,” the voicemail left on Martin’s phone by Incognito. Martin also revealed that he was hazed by his teammates during lunch and practices and Incognito was the main instigator behind this bullying.
This isn’t an isolated incident but a part of Incognito’s bullying pattern which can be traced back to his college days. He initially played for Nebraska where he immediately made an enemy out of fellow offensive lineman Jack Limbaugh. A teammate of Incognito revealed that Limbaugh made an easy target for Incognito because he was a walk-on trying hard to make it to the team, unlike Richie who had all the talent in the world. After receiving two suspensions from Nebraska he left the team to join the University of Oregon only to be dismissed a week later after joining.
After losing all hopes to play in the NFL, Incognito’s dream was revived by the St. Louis Rams who drafted him in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft. He had a quiet stint for the Rams earlier in his career which did involve 38 penalties with a league-leading 7 personal fouls. But things got out of hand in the 2009 season during the Rams’ match with the Tennessee Titans. Incognito was twice flagged for head-butting Titans players and got into a huge verbal match with then head coach Steve Spagnuolo and this incident marked his end with the Rams.
While Incognito did have managed to calm himself down after recovering professional help for anger management he replased back in 2012. After his suspension from the Miami Dolphins, he signed with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent and finally ended up with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019 until his retirement.
Towards the end of his career, Incognito managed to keep himself out of any controversies and ended his NFL career on a clean note. However, he did leave behind a very ugly legacy to his name as he will always be remembered for his bullying and many untoward acts toward his teammates during the course of his 13-year career.
Stay Updated!
Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)