Richie Incognito’s Lawyer Calls it Banter Not Bullying

Oct 27, 2013; Foxborough, MA, USA; Miami Dolphins guard

(68) blocks against New England Patriots defensive tackle

(94) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin story is getting headlines again. Incognito’s lawyer released a statement about the text messages between the two players and called it banter between friends and not bullying.

Here is the quotes from ESPN:

“The coarse and unacceptable comments and text messages that were sent to Jonathan Martin were of the same poor taste as those sent by him,” attorney Mark Schamel said. “All of these communications were provided to Ted Wells and the NFL investigation. What they show is banter between friends, not bullying.”

Schamel alleges that Martin sent text messages to Incognito which “included threats to send someone over to Richie Incognito’s home with a ‘tranquilizer gun and sandpaper condoms’ to homosexually rape him” and “another that said he would ‘kill [Richies’s] whole family.'”

“Richie Incognito has owned his inappropriate comments, despite the fact that they were made in jest, and it is time for Jonathan Martin to do the same,” Schamel said.

The attorney is claiming that Martin made the same remarks right back to Incognito. Some of those text messages are pretty heavy.

Tranquilizer gun and sandpaper condoms?!?! Crazy talk!

So…. who is the bad guy in this thing again?