National Football League

Dolphins reflect on what it is like to swim in troubled waters

Published Sep. 12, 2014 10:28 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

DAVIE, Fla. -- Amid the domestic-violence controversy enshrouding the NFL, Ray Rice's former team successfully took the field Thursday night for the first time since sickening video surfaced of the running back punching his now-wife aboard a casino elevator.

"Adversity can bring you together," Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after his squad's 26-6 victory over Pittsburgh.

The Miami Dolphins are painfully aware.

No other franchise can better relate to the non-football attention being showered upon the Ravens than one that went through its own indignity.

The 2013 bullying scandal involving Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin transcended the sports world into mainstream consciousness. The offensive linemen became emblematic symbols of a larger societal issue in the same fashion that Ray and Janay Rice have triggered debate about domestic violence and the lenient punishment often received by the perpetrator.

From an NFL standpoint, there are significant differences between the probes. Rather than focus on Ravens players, a league-sponsored independent investigation will primarily examine how Roger Goodell and his staff members conducted their review of the Rice incident.

Especially pertinent is whether any NFL employees saw the video before the commissioner imposed what even he later admitted was an insufficient two-game suspension.

In Miami's case, a slew of Dolphins employees were questioned last fall about the relationship between Martin and Incognito though many weren't close with either. Most had no inkling of the obscenity-laden give-and-take between the two that prompted Martin to consider suicide and seek mental-health counseling when what a publically released report described as "an odd but seemingly close friendship" with Incognito went off the rails.

Dolphins defensive end Cam Wake told FOX Sports on Thursday that the investigative interview process was "kind of like a movie" in the manner it was conducted. He also described it as "a little annoying" because of questions being asked that would violate the cherished sanctity of position-group meetings.

Wake said he was asked to reveal information that "only the people in the (meeting) room know. I don't even tell my family what happens. That's between me and the fellows."

The sterile environment in which the interview was conducted didn't make Wake any more comfortable.

"It was upstairs in the boardroom where they set up," Wake said. "I think they were lawyers -- three of them -- all sitting behind a desk. They had someone typing what was going on.

"They've got their little notes. They're going back and forth asking you questions. You sit there and answer them. They're very neutral and kind of withdrawn. They don't want any response or opinion. It's just question-and-answer. It was a little weird."

That scene, though, could actually be considered normal compared to the type of media circus that sent up tents around the Dolphins. The Ravens are experiencing similar scrutiny after TMZ.com posted security footage of Janay Rice crumbling after being struck in the face last February in Atlantic City.

"They'll be put in the same situation," Dolphins tight end Charles Clay told FOX Sports. "There will be a lot of outside forces trying to judge and tell what they think is going on and why they think that organization is in a bad place.

"You either put it behind you and go play or it will affect your play on the field."

The Ravens didn't let the Rice brouhaha diminish their performance against the Steelers. Harbaugh described his squad as having been in a "football cocoon" to protect against any outside distractions. Afterwards, some Ravens players did dedicate the game to Rice even though the franchise released him after six standout seasons earlier this week and tried to erase his memory by offering a jersey exchange for those fans who no longer wanted to wear his trademark No. 27.

From a purely competitive standpoint, the 2013 Dolphins also did well in handling the commotion that came with the Incognito/Martin fallout. Miami won four of six games after Incognito was suspended and Martin left the team. The Dolphins then lost their final two contests to finish 8-8.

"You have so many people who think they know exactly what's going on in here when they really don't," Clay said. "To walk out and have everybody wishing for the worse in a sense against you, it kind of forces you to stick together.

"We have a saying: 'We're all we have.'"

Like with its new domestic violence policy issued in light of the botched Rice sanctions, the NFL sent an anti-bullying message across the league during the offseason following the Incognito/Martin blowup. This included efforts to foster a locker-room environment that moves away from salty jocularity toward the structure of the traditional business world. The league also has targeted verbally-abusive language both on the gridiron and off-field workplace.

However, Clay and Wake insist that the perceptions of what was transpiring behind closed doors in Miami last season were far different than reality. Both also admit they never read the "Wells Report" that included details of what the Incognito/Martin investigation uncovered.

"(The investigators) were here a couple of weeks. I've been here four years," Clay said. "I know the type of men we have in this locker room."

Said Wake, a six-year Dolphins veteran: "Nobody can tell me more about what went on in this locker room than me. That's like writing a report about how I get ready for a game. I know. I was there. I experienced it. I told you about it ... It would be like me reading my own biography. It just wouldn't make sense to me."

While the 2014 Dolphins have moved on, aftereffects from the Incognito/Martin saga linger. Some of them were actually positive.

"You never want something like that to happen, but in our case looking back, I feel like it helped us a tremendous amount," said Clay, whose team opened the regular season last Sunday with a 33-20 upset of New England. "It's only made this team a lot closer. You look back dating to April and having 99.9 percent of your guys show up for voluntary workouts. That's big."

There are two credos printed on signs placed throughout the Dolphins' facility that serve as constant reminders for players to avoid another Incognito/Martin mess. One reads, "Respect is earned, not given." The other: "Communicate."

Those messages were posted by Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin. In light of the Rice situation, Philbin said Thursday that he has warned players about the perils of domestic-violence situations and trying to avoid them.

"Since day one of training camp and really since day one of the offseason program, we've talked about showing respect to everybody," Philbin said. "Obviously, women are included.

"Just being a good, decent human being to other people is really I think the message that we get across as often as we possibly can."

While the victory over Pittsburgh lifted Baltimore's spirits, the healing process has only just begun. The Ravens truly won't be able to move forward as an organization until results of the NFL investigation are released and the futures of both Rice and Goodell become more clearly defined. Rice was suspended indefinitely earlier this week by Goodell, whose own job security is being called into question by his botched handling of the entire affair.

Asked what advice he would offer the Ravens on weathering the storm, Wake replied, "Stay strong."

"Even more than normal, you have to turn your backs outward," he said. "Look inward to the guys that are going to matter. Just like with our situation, every single person in every town or radio station had an opinion. They thought they knew what happened. They didn't.

"The reality is the 53 guys in the locker room are the guys who are going to be arm-in-arm on Sundays. When times get tough, when you're down two scores, those are the guys you're going to count on."

That's what Harbaugh is counting on as well.