Richie Incognito insists he is not a racist

Miami Dolphins guard Richie Incognito has been at the center of a racial scandal for the past weeks after allegedly bullying his own teammate Jonathan Martin, who left the team on October 28.

Jonathan Martin’s attorney, David Cornwell, released a statement Thursday saying that Martin endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker-room hazing. David Cornwell also stated that, beyond the well-publicized voicemail with its racial epithet, his client “endured a malicious physical attack on him by a teammate, and daily vulgar comments. The facts are not in dispute.”

Richie Incognito responded to the controversy Sunday, in a sit-down interview with FOX Sports that was taped Saturday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. It is Richie Incognito’s first extended interview since the story broke. The interview first aired on NFL FOX Sunday, but an extended version aired Sunday night on FOX Sports Live.

In the interview, Richie Incognito asserts that he’s not a racist, insists that his relationship with Jonathan Martin was not as fractured as it may seem and says that much of what has been reported is misleading.

Richie Incognito also turned over his phone records, which showed 1,142 texts between him and Jonathan Martin in the past year.

Jonathan Martin sent these two texts to Richie Incognito three days after he left the team:

“Wassup man? The world’s gone crazy lol I’m good tho congrats on the win”

“Yeah I’m good man. It’s insane bro but just know I don’t blame you guys at all it’s just the culture around football and the locker room got to me a little.”

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