Former Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, who had been bullied by now former teammate Richie Incognito, was arrested Friday after authorities say he posted a disturbing Instagram story that included showing a shotgun, shotgun shells and the names of former teammates and his former high school.
ABC reports that on Thursday, Martin posted the images and tagged former teammates Incognito and Mike Pouncey, as well as the Los Angeles-area high school Martin attended, Harvard-Westlake. The 28-year-old was taken into custody Friday.
“When you’re a bully victim and a coward, your options are suicide or revenge,” Martin cryptically posted.
Martin’s chilling post came on the heels of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting that left 17 students and teachers dead. The message and image caused both Harvard-Westlake campuses to shut down.
“Last evening, we learned of an internet post that mentions Harvard-Westlake by name,” the school said in a statement viewed by the New York Post. “Out of an abundance of caution, and because the safety of our students, faculty and staff is our top priority, we made the decision to close school today. We are working closely with law enforcement and will share more information when we are able.”
In 2013, Martin became the national face of bullying after he revealed that he’d been the target of several disturbing messages from then-Miami Dolphin teammate and fellow offensive lineman Incognito. The conversation surrounding Martin’s revelation became a national conversation about locker-room culture.
“Martin accused Incognito, Pouncey and other offensive linemen five years ago of aggressively mocking him with racial insults. Incognito was subsequently suspended for the rest of the season and Martin was traded to the 49ers in the offseason,” the Post reports.
In 2016, Martin, who is biracial, noted that he’d tried to commit suicide throughout his life and was never comfortable growing up in the affluent Los Angeles area where he was raised.
“You learn to tone down your size & blackness by becoming shy, introverted, friendly, so you won’t scare the little rich white kids or their parents,” he wrote in a 2016 social media post, the Post reports.
“Neither black nor white people accept you because they don’t understand you. It takes away your self-confidence, your self-worth, your sanity,” the 2016 post continued.