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Miami Dolphins guard Richie Incognito knocked out a security guard at a hotel in Florida. Yep. That should get some clicks. ESPN is reporting exactly that. And, on the heels of the incident with Antonio Smith, goes to continue the idea that Incognito is a dirty player, who can't control himself.
Nevermind that Smith is the one that swung the helmet at Incognito. Nevermind that Smith was suspended for that play, while, as Adam Schefter writes at the end of his hotel incident article, "coaches who looked at the film said Incognito did nothing wrong on the play." Never let facts get in the way of a story.
In the hotel incident, Schefter writes, "After a late night at a nightclub in the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami, Incognito punched and knocked out a hotel security guard, according to league sources." He also states that there is video evidence, but the hotel does not want to release it, because they prefer "attention not be brought to the issue." He also explains that the Dolphins have buried the story, doing everything they can to keep it from being news.
But, thanks to the hard work from the ESPN analyst, we now know, well, that version of the events.
Nevermind the one line in the story, "One person who knows Incognito says the Dolphins guard was punched first." Schefter speculates, " It is premature, but Incognito's altercation could be a violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy."
Sounds like Incognito could be headed toward trouble.
Oh, except that when Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, actually asked the police for a report on the incident, he found some minor discrepancies with the ESPN report. Like, the police report lists "None" under injuries to Carlos Joseph, the security guard Incognito supposedly punched and knocked out. Pretty good to take a punch from a 319 pound NFL offensive lineman, be "knocked out," but have no injuries.
Meanwhile, Incognito was listed as having abrasions and bruises, but did not ask for any treatment.
The Miami Beach Police Department report states that Incognito was attempting to break up a fight, when Joseph punched him.
Joseph alleges that the fight started when Incognito and his friends got too close to a stage in the Fontainebleau hotel's Club LIV. The police listened to both sides of the story, then decided to not charge Incognito with anything. He was given a trespassing warning, which is basically the police saying he needed to leave the scene, or they would consider a trespassing citation. Incognito and his friends left voluntarily and nothing more came of the incident.
At least until Schefter gave it needed a sexy new headline.
The NFL has declined to comment on the incident, and really has nothing to investigate. The police did not charge Incognito with anything. The hotel does not want anyone to have the video, which they own and can decide to release or not. Given that this incident happened June 10, as Beasley reported, but no date appeared in the Schefter story, and no one has had any sort of information on it until now, there really does not seem like many witnesses are dying to tell a story to the media.
Which version of the story do you find more plausible? Is Incognito facing a suspension from the league? Let us know in the comments.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Since the publication of Adam Beasley's article, Adam Schefter's article on ESPN has been amended to now include the police report.]
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