Deflategate was not the first case Ted Wells investigated for the NFL, and the target of his first probe is just as unhappy as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are.
Wells concluded in 2013 that former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito “engaged in a pattern of harassment directed” at teammate Jonathan Martin. Now Incognito is with the Buffalo Bills, but he hasn’t played in an NFL game since the Dolphins suspended him two years ago.
“Ted Wells came in with a mission against me,” Incognito recently told Newsday’s Bob Glauber. “Ted Wells came in slanted against me and everything in his report was slanted against me. There were some things in there that would have helped my cause that were left out.”
That’s where Incognito believes his case is similar to Brady’s.
“Teammate testimony, stuff like that,” Incognito told Glauber. “You see that in Brady’s case. There’s a lot of stuff that got left out. There’s a lot of misinformation.”
While much of Incognito’s ire seems to be aimed at Wells, he also had some choice words about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who is coming under fire for his handling of Deflategate.
“I just think it’s bogus, the whole system in how it’s set up with Roger and the complete, absolute power he has,” Incognito told Newsday. “He has so much power, and he hires independent investigators who come in and are obviously not independent. They come in with an agenda and they come in looking to find facts to back up their argument. All the facts are slanted in their favor.”
That story is repeating itself in New England.
Thumbnail photo via Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports Images
