Jaguars DE Yannick Ngakoue accuses Bills G Richie Incognito of using racial slurs
Yannick Ngakoue referenced the Dolphins’ 2013 bullying scandal in a tweet accusing Richie Incognito of using racial slurs Sunday.
Hours after the Jacksonville Jaguars earned a 10-3 win over the Buffalo Bills, Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue had a message for Bills offensive lineman Richie Incognito.
According to Ngakoue, Incognito used racist slurs during the game:
Great win to day! And 64, you goin have to come harder than some weak racist slurs. I’m proud of my African heritage, as are 70% of the other Black players in this league. #Iaintjonathanmartin!
— YANNICK NGAKOUE! (@YannGetSacks91) January 8, 2018
No. 64 on the Bills is Incognito and Ngakoue’s hashtag, #Iaintjonathanmartin, is a reference to a bullying scandal with the Miami Dolphins that resulted in Incognito getting released by the team.
In 2013, Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin left the team and said he was the victim of harassment spearheaded by Incognito, beginning with Martin’s rookie season in 2012. An NFL investigator released a report in 2014 that detailed Incognito’s actions, which included homophobic and racist remarks.
A day after his tweet, Ngakoue stood by him claims when he met with reporters.
“He said what he said,” Ngakoue said, via ESPN. “He knows what he said. I don’t have to repeat it.
”I’ve been playing this game since I was a little kid. You hear all types of stuff. Stuff’s not going to bother you, but somebody says something about your ethnicity, that’s really kind of taking it a little bit too far.”
Jaguars defensive lineman Calais Campbell came to Ngakoue’s defense a day later:
#Jaguars DE Calais Campbell on Bills' chirping yesterday:
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) January 8, 2018
"There were a lot of guys talking, like it was coached, to try and get us to lose our cool. ... I understand wanting to give yourself an advantage but there are boundaries. You don’t go to racial slurs. That’s not OK."
Incognito hasn’t responded to the claim, but Buffalo offensive lineman, Dion Dawkins, rebutted it on Twitter.
Just for the world to know, everyone always tryna put some bad thing on @68INCOGNITO i was next to my guy the entire game and the entire season and believe me, if he was saying some racist stuff I would have been the first to let him know that was out of line. Cut The BS
— Dion Dawkins (@DDawkins66) January 8, 2018
Another Bills offensive lineman, Eric Wood, said Monday that he didn’t want to speculate either way, but that he didn’t personally hear any slurs from Incognito either.
At his end-of-the-year presser on Tuesday, Bills GM Brandon Beane addressed Ngakoue’s claims.
“Anytime you have an accusation like that, you take it very seriously,” Beane said, via Buffalo Rumblings. “We have spoken to Richie and understand his side of the story. I know Richie is trying to reach out to the other young man that was involved. From what I understand, it was a little bit of on the field stuff back and forth. I know there’s one accusation. We’re looking into it. I’ve spoken with the league. We’re going to follow protocol. That’s really where it’s at.”
Ngakoue’s accusations of racist slurs from the 34-year-old offensive lineman won’t be taken lightly and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the NFL is looking into the claims.