After reportedly admitting to beating up his own black Ferrari with a baseball bat, Richie Incognito finds himself in the same predicament as the one Jonathan Martin was in at the beginning of November when he left the Miami Dolphins' organization and checked into a hospital suffering from emotional distress. As we found out later, Martin was suffering from distress caused by his treatment at hands of his Dolphins teammates during the first year and a half of his pro career. In an ironic twist of fate, Incognito checked himself into an Arizona psychiatric facility on Friday.
After weeks of being targeted in the national media and being labeled as a racist and a meathead bully, it's not surprising his previously unstable psyche snapped. The beatdown Incognito endured for the past four months is comparable what Martin lived with through the summer of 2012 through October 2013 while his teammates tormented him. Conversely, a callous person could suggest that this is a coordinated attempt to change the negative narrative surrounding his boorish behavior into a sympathetic one.
"Oh, that was just me venting, that was my self-expression, that's a piece of art," Incognito told Fox 10 in Scottsdale on Thursday during a bizarre, rambling interview. "The happiest day of my life was when I got that car, and now the second-happiest day is going to be when I donate it to charity.
Incognito's car vandalism certainly sounds like a cry for help and highlights the difference between how he and Martin dealt with stress from a fight or flight perspective. You can guess which one Incognito chose. Either way, this goes to show all those who wondered why Martin didn't just fight back, that Incognito is the not the type of guy a sane person seeks a physical confrontation with.
