Warren Sapp, Bucs chime in on Richie Incognito, hazing
TAMPA, Fla. — An alleged bullying incident involving Miami Dolphins offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin remains a hot topic throughout the NFL world. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' facility is no different, with reaction ranging from coaches to rookies to veterans and even Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who stopped by the building Wednesday afternoon with a few choice words.
Here's a collection of thoughts from One Buc Place on the controversy.
Q: You played against [Richie Incognito] in Miami, right?
Sapp: Yeah, he dropped me and called me the n-word. I looked at him, I said, "Well, you want me to slap you in the mouth so they throw me out of the game right now." I said, "I've got a better plan. I'm going to assault your quarterback, and they're going to cut your a**."
… Richie, nobody's ever had a question that Richie was a dirtbag. But when you get rid of Jake Long and (Karlos) Dansby, now it's his locker room, just like that was my locker room.
… You always know that the O-line will take care of the O-line. They're like cattle. … They're cattle. That's what I'm going to say -- they're cattle. You're never going to find one by himself. Defense, you'll find a rogue D-lineman, a rogue D-tackle, a rogue linebacker, a rogue corner, "I can do it by myself." But in the O-line, no way you won't. "Na-huh, we've got to be together, fellas." Them dudes, they'll hang together, so once you get rid of one of those leaders, and now it's Richie's locker room, don't get in a pissing match with a skunk.
Q: What's your policy on rookie initiation?
Schiano: My policy with everything — we talk about trust, belief and accountability. That kind of covers everything. Our guys, there are some ritual things they do. My thing is always don't cross the line. That's a man, you're a man. Make sure we don't cross a line. I think our guys have been good about that. So if it's skits or carrying pads or cleaning off a tray, that's ritual that guys go through. That's how we talk about it — in that trust, believe and accountability with one another. That code of conduct kind of covers everything we do."
Q: Have you seen it go too far at any point?
Schiano: I haven't. No, I have not.
Q: What's over-the-line in initiations?
Schiano:
You live by the Golden Rule, and that's something we talk about as well. Treat others the way you want to be treated. I think when you start getting into having 1,000 different things, you run out of time before you can define all of them. I think TBA — trust, belief and accountability — covers that all. Do what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it and be honest. Those two things are almost 90 percent (of it) — belief in yourself and the team, what we do, and then accountability. Being accountable to each other, those three things are what we hang our hat on. I think the Golden Rule is one you live by, not just in football but everything.
Q: What's your solution if you have players not playing tough enough? Do you have a protocol for that?
Schiano: I just talk to him. I call him in and tell him, "This is what we need from you." If he doesn't do it, you play somebody else. The thing I learned a long time ago — and it's like raising your kids — you can threaten, you can yell, you can scream, but that may not work. As soon as their rear-end meets bench, if they've got it in them, they're going to fight back. And if they don't, they don't. And then you know it's time to move on.
Q: Give us an idea of how rookies are treated here.
Spence: Through camp, I can't really say we got hazed. We actually didn't do much but carry helmets and shoulder pads to dinner. That sounds like tradition here.
Q: What did you go through this year?
Spence: Of course, we had a rookie dinner. We did a talent show in front of the team. It was open. We were able to make fun of the coaches and make fun of any player we wanted to. And then the rookie dinner — I know a lot of guys do that. Fortunate for us, up front on D-line, we had a lot of rookies, we were able to split it up, which wasn't bad.
Q: How much did you have to pay?
Spence: Oh, not much. I think it was under 10 grand.
Q: Tell us about your rookie initiation.
Glennon: You hear all these stories. There wasn't anything I had to do that was bad at all. I had to run to Chipotle a few times to get some burritos for the quarterbacks. I had to sing one time in front of the team. I was the only person that had to do so.
Casillas:
The whole thing that's coming out with them (Miami) is a surprise with me. I was a rookie five years ago (with the New Orleans Saints), and I got a little bit of hazing. But I wouldn't call it bullying. It was more like a rite of passage. That's how I felt, and I think that's still how it is now, at least what I've been a part of here and my four years in New Orleans.
Q: Anything unusual about what you heard going on in Miami?
Penn: It's a shame what's going on. I hope everything works out. I hope it's not as big as they're making it. I hope it's not as bad, because nobody should ever go through that.
Q: Are you surprised some people just pay it (expensive meals) and treat it as part of being a rookie in the NFL?
Banks: I wouldn't pay it.
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