Miami Dolphins coaching legend Don Shula gave his take on the Richie Incognito situation earlier this week. Shula, who won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1970s and coached his team to a perfect 16-0 season, questioned the team’s decision to have Incognito on the roster in the first place.
“You win with good people on and off the field,” Shula told the Miami Herald’s Greg Cote. “They took a chance on a guy with a bad reputation, and it backfired on them.”
As you know, the NFL is currently looking into allegations that Incognito bullied teammate Jonathan Martin. Incognito supposedly left Martin a threatening voicemail and was the ring leader for teammates who hazed the former Stanford star. But there were warning signs off the field before the Martin situation.
In 2012, Incognito was accused of sexually harassing an employee at a golf tournament. We also saw a video of him stomping around at a bar with his shirt off acting like an idiot. The Dolphins reportedly considered releasing Incognito before the season but decided to hold onto him because they were thin at offensive line. Shula said it bothers him to see his former team dealing with issues like these.
“It hurts,” Shula said. “You hate to see it happening.”
According to Cote, Shula was referring to several years of letdowns with the Dolphins organization — not just the Incognito mess. It’s tough to argue with the legend.
