Richie Incognito had plenty to say in an April voice mail message left for Jonathan Martin, but elected to use brevity when approached by reporters for WSVN-TV as he left a doctor's appointment.
Incognito said he was "doing well," and was "trying to weather the storm" — a phrase he repeated twice. He was not willing to answer questions about his current status with the Miami Dolphins, issuing a "no comment" before getting in his car and driving away.
A firestorm surrounded Incognito when it was revealed earlier this week that he left a racially charged and threatening voice mail for Martin. In response the Dolphins suspended Incognito for "conduct detrimental to the team," and has requested the NFL to undertake an evaluation of their facility and workplace to ensure there are no further violations.
Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin denied any knowledge of impropriety between Incognito and Martin until he heard the voicemail message, but reports have emerged that the team's coaching staff asked the veteran offensive linemen to "toughen up" Martin. There has been no further update on these reports.
Incognito told reporters "this'll pass" in relation to the ongoing investigation of the Dolphins, but this assessment is overly optimistic from the suspended guard. Questions have been raised about hazing inside NFL locker rooms, as well as additional reports of borderline extortion by Incognito in which he required Martin to pay $15,000 for a team trip to Las Vegas that Martin did not attend. The whole story is yet to emerge, but there's no indication that this controversy will simply "pass" as Incognito hopes.
More from SB Nation NFL
• Celebrity Hot Tub: Working with Christian Ponder
• PFT Commenter's Week 9 awards: Friends in Philly
• NFL Power Rankings: Tough week for top teams
• Ufford: The NFL could learn something from the Marines
• Aaron Rodgers suffers small collarbone fracture
• NFL Debrief: How we learned to love the Jets