Richie Incognito a "Scumbag" and "Locker Room Cancer" Who Wanted "to Fight Everybody"

Richie Incognito, his Miami Dolphins teammates claim, was an upstanding individual, peerless leader, and astonishingly, an all-around great guy. Forget his history of fighting and savage-like behavior in college and previous NFL spots, Richie Incognito has been a model citizen in Miami! (Well, except for that golf course incident!)

Oh. Wait. A former teammate of Incognito’s from St. Louis would like to remind everyone of something:

"Seven years later, when Cleeland was playing for St. Louis, the Rams drafted Incognito, who had been kicked off his college teams at Nebraska and Oregon. “I’m not afraid to say that he was an immature, unrealistic scumbag,” Cleeland said. “When it came down to it, he had no personality, he was a locker-room cancer, and he just wanted to fight everybody all the time. It was bizarre beyond belief.” Just as he shakes his head at Ditka’s suggestion he simply should have thrown punches, he scoffs at the reaction some have about the situation in Miami. “Any NFL player that gives Martin a hard time — I don’t know him — but any guy who says, ‘This guy should have been a tough guy, should have stood up to him,’ it’s BS,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re a good guy or not, you don’t deserve that kind of treatment in any workplace. You’ve got to be tough. We’re all tough guys. But in the end, you’re still a human being.”"

Lemme guess: Incognito is a changed man! In the second act of his career, he’s put the troglodyte behavior behind him. He’s no longer a bully who wants to throw fists – he’s just a jokester tasked with toughening up young, weak players!

Sources tell me Jeff Ireland was seen at Staples in South Florida this morning printing multiple copies of his resume. A man in hat and glasses resembling Joe Philbin may have been with him. [via the LA Times]