The Miami Dolphins’ infamous “Bullygate” scandal resurfaced this week with an ESPN story on Jonathan Martin during which he said “never believed for a second” he was bullied.

That prompted a strong response from fellow former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito, the other man at the center of the controversy, after he refused to comment for the ESPN story.

“He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me,” Incognito wrote on X on Sunday. “Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie! They lied to protect his money. He quit … the team had every right to claw back that money. His mom started the bullying narrative with @espn @AdamSchefter so that @MiamiDolphins wouldn’t go after his signing bonus!”

For those not familiar with the story, Martin abruptly left the Dolphins on a Monday in 2013 three days before a Thursday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Halloween (the “Wake-Off” game).

After accusations of bullying were made, the NFL hired Ted Wells to investigate the matter and the result was a 144-page report with the biggest takeaway being a consistent pattern of harassment byoffensive linemen Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey.

The long Martin profile on ESPN was published earlier this week and described his journey over the past 10 years, including his battles with depression.

Martin was described as being reluctant to address the “Bullygate” episode. with the story written after a series of interviews that started in December 2023.

Martin indicated the idea he was being bullied came from his mother, who like Incognito declined to be interviewed for the ESPN story.

For his part, Martin said he wanted to set the record straight.

“It’s a story,” he said, “that I’ve been trying to fix for 10 years.”

The Dolphins won their game the week Martin left the team thanks to Cameron Wake’s overtime sack for a safety — hence the “Wake-Off Game” nickname — to even their record to 4-4 on the season.

They finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs, but that was after they had a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a victory in either of their final two games before losing 19-0 at Buffalo and 20-7 at home against the New York Jets.

So the Dolphins were able to overcome the “Bullygate” to a certain degree, but former Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll indicated on X on Sunday he still was bothered by the incident.

“Not gonna say one guy messed up a season because we were up and down that year,” Carroll wrote. “But the negative attention and careers he messed up, (trainer) Kevin O’Neill, John Jerry, Richie, Mike P., Coach (Joe) Philbin, y’all don’t understand every day it was never about opponents but how bad of a locker we had (which we didn’t). I remember when he was crying leaving the locker room because he couldn’t handle that he just wasn’t playing good and didn’t bother to work himself out of a hole.

“He just ran like a coward!

“Admitting this now does nothing. I don’t respect him, never will.”

More Miami Dolphins News: