In Miami, ‘offensive line’ takes on a new meaning

On the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 2012, three Miami Dolphins offensive linemen "jokingly threatened to harm" an assistant trainer of Japanese ancestry "in retaliation for Pearl Harbor."

Other times they called him a "Jap," a "Chink," a "Chinaman," a "dirty communist" and a "North Korean."

A teammate was branded as, a "liberal mulatto bitch" and a "stinky Pakistani," and a rifle scope was described as, "perfect for shooting black people."

And hours after the damning independent report that detailed all this was issued Friday, the alleged ringleader now under siege, Richie Incognito, tweeted:

"Pleeeeease Stop The Hate. Happy Valentines Day :)."

Welcome to the dysfunctional Dolphins, where the term "offensive line" was given new meaning by revelations of disturbing behavior in the 144-page Wells Report.

Commissioned by the NFL in response to allegations of harassment that prompted tackle Jonathan Martin’s turbulent departure from the Dolphins last season, the report said, "To be candid, we struggled with how to evaluate Martin’s claims of harassment given his mental health issues, his possible heightened sensitivity to insults and his unusual ‘bipolar’ friendship with Incognito. Nonetheless, we ultimately concluded that Martin was indeed harassed by Incognito, who can fairly be described as the main instigator, and by (John) Jerry and (Mike) Pouncey, who tended to follow Incognito’s lead."

The result is that Incognito is likely to find limited employment opportunities when he becomes a free agent next month, and any locker room he might land in will be vastly changed from the one he left in disgrace before being suspended in November.

Nobody who has ever been in one has compared pro locker rooms with insurance offices. But what took place in Miami crossed plenty of lines of respect and decency. The take-away from this for the NFL is that no longer will workplace harassment and bullying rules be looked at as pertaining strictly to people who toil in offices.

Presumably no longer will a coach single out a player for an inflatable male doll Christmas stocking stuffer or teammates on the practice field mimic having sex with a fellow player’s sister. 

With the expectation that Michael Sam, the first NFL prospect to publicly announce he is gay prior to the pro draft, will find a place with one of the teams, the report notes, "it is even more urgent a tolerant atmosphere exist throughout the league."

The NFL is a $10 billion-a-year enterprise, and the multi-millionaires fortunate enough to inhabit its payrolls can expect to be put on notice by a commissioner who, it was reported Friday, pulled down $44.2 million last year.

For all the protestations that what took place in Miami constituted "bonding" and unit building, the results say otherwise. The Dolphins’ offensive line yielded 58 sacks, more than anybody in the 2013 regular season.

Maybe Incognito and his crew should have spent less time demeaning an assistant trainer and teammates and invested more energy in protecting Ryan Tannehill.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.