This story is unlucky and unfortunate. It’s a story about people on Twitter trying to take shots at Miami Dolphins embattled offensive lineman Jonathan Martin.
Unfortunately, the unlucky part of the of the story is that the Twitter attacks were aimed at the wrong Jonathan Martin. The Martin that received the bullying was New York Times columnist Jonathan Martin — not the one in the middle of an intense hazing story in the NFL.
Martin writes that he initially thought the misguided attacks were funny, but the nature of the tweets became increasingly insensitive and obscene. He explains the entire situation in his column, “Sorry, Wrong Jonathan Martin.”
“As the story has intensified and misplaced 140-character assaults have piled up, though, the misunderstanding has lost some of its charm,” Martin writes. “I feel bad for my fellow Jonathan Martin — lord knows what his Twitter feed looks like — but the whole affair has also been a reminder about how ugly discourse can be on the Internet. During campaign season, nasty, even abusive, emails and Twitter messages are standard fare for political reporters. Partisans (or, in this case, fans) say things online they would never contemplate saying to the face of a stranger, let alone one the size of the brawny Jonathan Martin. As one person said in a message to me this week, it is ‘keyboard courage.’”
Here’s an example of a not-so-mean tweet the wrong Martin has received.
'Fins look turrible…even if @jmartNYT and @68INCOGNITO were playing, they wouldn't have a prayer
— Ben Golnik (@bgolnik) November 12, 2013
And here’s a tweet from a follower that actually understood the New York Times Martin wasn’t the one playing in the NFL.
@jmartNYT The @nytimes really needs to do something about it's locker-room culture. Stay strong, man!
— Snap'ja Wilson🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇺🇦🇵🇸 (@snapwilson) November 11, 2013
This story is similar to the one that Baltimore Ravens radio play-by-play man Gerry Sandusky went through after Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison for sex abuse.
By the way, this isn’t an easy mistake to make for anyone with a functioning brain. The New York Times Martin has a photo of a beagle as his Twitter image. The Dolphins Martin has an image of a 6-foot-5, 315-pound offensive lineman as his image. Pretty easy to tell the difference …
