Nov 9, 2013 4 min read

Had enough of the Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito story?

Every person with access to a keyboard has something to say about the situation with the Miami Dolphins, but the best summation I’ve seen came from ESPN.com columnist Jason Whitlock: “Mass incarceration has turned Black America so upside down that a tatted-up, N-word-tossing white goon is more accepted than a soft-spoken, highly intelligent, black Stanford graduate.”

A lot of people outside of NFL locker rooms were surprised to see how many black players on the Dolphins stood up for Incognito, even after a racial slur was found on a voicemail that he left for Martin.

After I read Whitlock’s article, I started to wonder if Martin’s problem was some of his teammates thought he was “acting white.”

Whitlock quotes an unidentified black player on the Dolphins: “Richie is honorary. I don’t expect you to understand (if) you’re not black. But being a black guy, being a brother is about more than just skin color. It’s about how you carry yourself. How you play. Where you come from. What you’ve experienced. A lot of things.”

Martin is a Stanford graduate and comes from two Harvard-educated parents – one white, one black. Maybe this explains why Incognito felt he could get away with calling Martin a racial slur without hearing about it from his black teammates.

As Whitlock points out in his piece, Martin’s teammates called him, “The Big Weirdo.”

Weird because he sounded “white?”

Weird because he didn’t have any or enough tattoos?

My first reaction to this story was an inability to understand how a 6-5, 320-pound man could allow himself to be bullied.

That was before I learned more about Martin and heard some of the moronic comments from his teammates and other NFL players. Now, I’m beginning to believe it had nothing to do with physical threats and everything to do with a smart guy realizing he could no longer tolerate being surrounded by so many stupid people.

• There seems to be some support building among media and fans for/if/when the Steelers’ season is completely in the toilet, sitting Ben Roethlisberger for the last few games. He’s on pace to be sacked 62 times, which would be a career-high, and there is legitimate concern for his health. That should be the case every game and every snap, but here’s something that shouldn’t be a concern: 2015.

Or 2016.

Coach Mike Tomlin was asked at his Tuesday news conference if he had given any consideration to how much the beating Roethlisberger is taking, and might continue to take this season, will have on him when he’s in his mid-30s.

Tomlin, not surprisingly, dismissed the question.

Can you imagine Tomlin, in the middle of watching the tape of the Steelers’ most-recent embarrassment, suddenly slapping his forehead and saying, “Boy, we really stink, but what really concerns me is, if Ben gets hurt, who’s going to play quarterback in 2016?”

The Steelers are in the process of paying Roethlisberger $100 million. He needs to play. The team needs to prevent the creation of a culture of losing that can come from writing off a game or a season too soon.

Then there is the minor consideration of the fans, who, you know, pay for all of this. They deserve to see the team they paid to see and they deserve to see it try to win. They’re already stiffed twice a year with exhibition games they’re forced to pay for if they want season tickets.

• A few days ago, I saw a woman with her entire right leg covered in tattoos. She had permanently disfigured her body with the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins logos. There was a time when someone who did that would be watched very closely by her family and maybe sent away for a long rest. Not to be critical.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.