Stanford head coach David Shaw said Monday he is proud of former Cardinal offensive tackle Jonathan Martin for shedding light on the acts of bullying committed by Miami Dolphins guard Richie Incognito, including the use of a racial slur and threats of physical violence in texts and voicemails.
"We're proud of Jonathan," Shaw told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. "The biggest thing for Jonathan, in my mind, is getting him back to a position where he's ready to play the game that he loves."
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Shaw has experience in NFL locker rooms, having been an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, and is likely to be a serious candidate for head-coaching positions in the future.
Shaw understands that there is a different mentality in the NFL compared to the college ranks, but said the situation Martin had been dealing with was "out of the ordinary."
"We're talking about something that, as more comes out, we're finding out this is not just Jon being oversensitive, this is Jonathan being the first person to speak out about what's been going on," Shaw said.
"And now it's like almost everyone's taking that opportunity now to speak out. Which once again points back to the fact that this isn't an isolated incident about Jonathan. This is apparently a difficult situation."
Shaw said he has not spoken to Martin, who earned first-team All-America recognition while starting in 37 of 39 career games at Stanford from 2008-11, but hoped to do so soon. Shaw added that several individuals associated with the program have been in contact with Martin, who left the Dolphins earlier this month and is expected to be placed on the non-football injury list.
"By all accounts he's doing well. Not sure if he's going to rejoin the team this year or when he is. But he's going to get himself back ready to play the game," Shaw said.
"He's only at the beginning of his career. I'm excited for that career to continue, hopefully soon."
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
