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Miami head coach Joe Philbin said that he is responsible for the wellbeing of his players as the NFL launched an inquiry following the ban of Dolphins lineman Richie Incognito for conduct detrimental to the team.
The Dolphins suspended Incognito hours after the team said they were looking into bullying and abuse allegations made by Miami offensive tackle Jonathan Martin.
"The NFL is going to conduct a review of the workplace," Philbin told a news conference at the Dolphins' training facility. "It's going to be comprehensive, it's going to be objective. As an organization we are going to give our full and complete cooperation with the NFL."
"As the head coach of the Miami Dolphins I'm in charge of the workplace atmosphere," the coach added.
Martin, who was a second-round draft choice in 2012 out of Stanford University, left the team last week on a leave of absence. The 23-year-old had started every game of his rookie season and seven games this year.
Incognito is alleged to have sent Martin a series of threatening text messages and at least one voicemail in which he called Martin a "half nigger", according to ESPN. They added that the “intimidation” stretched back into the 2012 season.
The wider inquiry by NFL officials is also expected to look into an alleged culture of bullying in the Dolphins locker room, especially charges that rookie players who are paid the league minimum salary of $390,000 were almost bankrupted by the financial burden imposed on them by veteran players.
Philbin said Martin did not inform him of problems with his teammates at the time, but that representatives notified him later about repeated harassment and that after gathering more information the decision was made to suspend Incognito.
Neither the Dolphins nor Philbin would elaborate on the allegations against Incognito. On Twitter, Incognito denied wrongdoing and demanded that his name be cleared.
The incident shines a light on rookie hazing that has long been a widespread practice in the league, though not generally known to have been taken to extremes.
ESPN reported on Sunday that Incognito convinced Martin to contribute $15,000 to help finance a trip to Las Vegas, even though Martin did not go on the trip.
Other instances of intimidation and racial epithets were captured on voicemails and texts.
Philbin said his aim has been "to help our players and our organization reach their full potential. Any type of conduct or behavior that detracts from that objective is not acceptable. It's not tolerated. "
"If the review shows that this is not a safe atmosphere, I will take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that it is. I have that obligation to the players that I coach on a daily basis and I will do that."
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