Richie Incognito has made a living off of second chances.
He has been cut by several teams, arrested multiple times but somehow finds a way back. Now a member of the Oakland Raiders, Incognito sat down with HBO's "Real Sports" to address his troubled past. The interview, which aired Tuesday night, was filled with many memorable moments but none more startling than the 36-year-old's denial of bullying former Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin.
"I did not drive him out of the league," Incognito told Bernard Goldberg. "I believe his mental health issues and his demons in his past drove him out the league."
"Was some bad (expletive) said? Absolutely," Incognito added. "But was this a case of bullying? Absolutely not."
A 2013 investigation into the Dolphins locker room found that Incognito sent messages with racial and homophobic slurs to Martin. The Dolphins suspended Incognito indefinitely. At that time, Martin took a leave of absence from the team, playing just one more season before he deciding to retire. Incognito also said the investigation incorrectly cast him as a racist and homophobic.
"It was obviously something I regret," Incognito said. "It's the one line I can't cross. Sometimes you say the worst things to the people closest to you. But I definitely don't feel like that makes me a racist person."
The four-time Pro Bowler also discussed the May 2018 altercation at a Boca Raton gym that landed him in a mental health facility. Incognito claimed the confluence of marijuana-induced paranoia, heavy drinking and lack of sleep pushed him to throw a dumbbell at another man. To his credit, he has sought help and says he's trying to be a better person.
