Ex-Dolphin Jonathan Martin Details Emotional Issues, Suicide Attempts

Jonathan Martin let everyone inside his world Tuesday night.

Martin, the subject of the 2013 Miami Dolphins bullying scandal, posted a powerful message to Facebook and Twitter in which he discussed his personal issues and his struggle to fit in. The 26-year-old former offensive lineman also revealed that he attempted suicide several times.

“Your job leads you to attempt to kill yourself on multiple occasions,” Martin wrote. “Your self-perceived social inadequacy dominates your every waking moment & thought. You’re petrified of going to work. You either sleep 12, 14, 16, hours a day when you can, or not at all. You drink too much, smoke weed constantly, have trouble focusing on doing your job, playing the sport that you grew up obsessed with.”

Martin, drafted in the second round in 2012, started all 16 games for the Dolphins in his rookie season. He left the team during the 2013 season and it later was determined through an NFL investigation that three Dolphins linemen — Richie Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey — engaged in a pattern of harassment directed toward Martin and another young offensive lineman.

Martin calls his NFL tenure a “wake up call” while detailing his personal anguish in his social media post. He concludes the post, which contains strong language, by saying he hopes that sharing his story can help “some other chubby, goofy, socially-isolated, sensitive kid getting bullied in America who feels like no one in the world cares about them.”

Martin, who played 15 games for the San Francisco 49ers last season, was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason. He said at the time the bullying scandal was in his past, but he later submitted his retirement papers, citing a back injury.

You can read Martin’s entire post at the link below.

Warning: link contains strong language.