Richie Incognito calls out ESPN, Adam Schefter over ‘Bullygate’ reporting
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is highly regarded as one of the most prominent NFL insiders, but the accuracy of his reporting has been questioned on more than one occasion. That occurred again on Sunday night.
When most NFL fans think about the playing career of four-time Pro Bowler Richie Incognito, they think of the infamous “Bullygate” scandal involving former Miami Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin.
For those unfamiliar with the “Bullygate” scandal in 2013, numerous high-profile networks, including ESPN and Fox Sports, reported that Martin was subjected to “a pattern of harassment” from a number of his fellow Dolphins teammates on the offensive line. The entire situation was later recorded in a 144-page report by NFL-hired trial lawyer Ted Wells.
The reports led to Richie Incognito’s indefinite suspension by the Dolphins for “conduct detrimental to the team,” which resulted in him missing the final eight games of the 2013 season. Meanwhile, Martin never played for the organization after the alleged incident.
Incognito, who was also accused of being a dirty player several times across his NFL career, sat out the 2018 NFL season before joining the Oakland Raiders in 2019 and playing until 2021.
In a conversation with ESPN’s Anthony Olivieri earlier this week, Martin spoke about the alleged incident, admitting that he “never believed for a second” that he was ever bullied by Incognito or any of his other teammates.
“I never believed for a second I was being bullied,” Martin said. “It’s a story that I’ve been trying to fix for 10 years.”
This prompted Incognito, who had been declaring his innocence publically ever since the incident, to blame ESPN, Adam Schefter, and other “legacy media” outlets for running with the story that he claims was crafted by Martin’s mom.
“He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me,” wrote Incognito in a post on X. “Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie! They lied to protect his money. He quit… the team had every right to claw back that money. His mom started the bullying narrative with ESPN and Adam Schefter so that the Miami Dolphins wouldn’t go after his signing bonus.”
He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me. Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie! They lied to protect his money. He quit… the team had every right to claw back that money. His mom started the bullying narrative with @espn…
— Richie Incognito (@68INCOGNITO) February 16, 2025
To be fair to Schefter, he was far from the only NFL insider reporting on the alleged scandal at the time. But that hasn’t stopped Incognito, who earned a reputation as a player and person due to the incident, from going on the offensive against Schefter.
Schefter posted an excerpt from Olivieri’s report on his X account, which Incognito responded to by outlining what Schefter’s reporting did to his career.
“Notable excerpt?! You tried to ruin my life over this bull****,” wrote Incognito.
Notable excerpt?! You tried to ruin my life over this bullshit @AdamSchefter
— Richie Incognito (@68INCOGNITO) February 16, 2025
Schefter was also not the only media member around the NFL that Incognito wanted answers from. He also called out Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio for his reporting on the scandal at the time.
“Care to comment Mike Florio?” wrote Incognito in another post on X.
Great question! Care to comment Mike Florio? @ProFootballTalk
— Richie Incognito (@68INCOGNITO) February 16, 2025
It’s not as though Incognito is just now calling out reporters and media outlets that ran with the initial story. In 2013, he called out Schefter, ESPN, Fox Sports, Pro Football Talk, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports in an attempt to clear his name.
Martin’s admission hasn’t quite reached critical mass at the moment, so we’ll have to see what happens as more media outlets cover the revelation. Incognito appears to have been vindicated over years of negative public perception on this front, and it’s entirely possible he could seek retribution through the courts now that Martin has said the bullying claims were untrue.
