Ex-NFLer Jonathan Martin Detained As Instagram Gun Post Might Have Forced School To Close, Per ‘USA Today’
Reports suggest that former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was detained at a Los Angeles hospital on Friday, one day after he posted a “threatening” Instagram story that might have resulted in his high school alma mater shutting down.
Citing an unnamed source familiar with the situation, USA Today wrote that Martin was “trying to check himself into the hospital,” amid a separate report from ABC News’ Matt Stone that suggested he was arrested following the Instagram post. In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department identified Martin as the “individual we believe responsible” for the social media post that caused Harvard-Westlake School to close for the day, adding that he has been detained and that an investigation is currently being conducted on the case.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the post in question came from Jonathan Martin’s verified Instagram account, which is set to private, and featured a photo of a shotgun on a bed with shells lying nearby. The post also included a caption that made reference to how many bullying victims tend to take their own lives or those of people who tormented them.
“When you’re a bully victim and a coward, your options are suicide or revenge.”
According to the Daily Mail, two of Martin’s former Miami Dolphins teammates, fellow offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey, were tagged in the post, along with sports agent James Dunleavy and dating app executive T.J. Taylor. It isn’t clear at the moment why Martin tagged Dunleavy and Taylor, but Incognito and Pouncey were among the players who allegedly led the bullying against Martin during his time with the Dolphins, according to a 2014 report from SB Nation. These purported acts of bullying reportedly included frequent use of homophobic and racist language directed toward Martin, as well as repeated threats to sexually assault his sister.
Ex-Dolphins OL Jonathan Martin reportedly arrested after posting gun photo and tagging his former high school in a threat on Instagram https://t.co/D9hHDyfOmJ pic.twitter.com/YwB0kOKgYy
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 23, 2018
Speaking to USA Today, Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Tony Kway explained that police officers made the decision to shut Harvard-Westlake down for the day after receiving reports about an Instagram post made by a “former student who is now an adult.” Kway did not comment on whether the post in question was made by Martin, who graduated from Harvard-Westlake in 2008 and played college football for the Stanford Cardinal before joining the NFL, according to his player profile on the Stanford website.
Jonathan Martin’s purported Instagram activity and Harvard-Westlake’s subsequent shutdown came less than two weeks after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz allegedly killed at least 17 people in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which he had once attended. CBS Los Angeles also noted that there have been multiple arrests in the greater Los Angeles area, with several teenagers and young adults arrested over the past week or so, in connection to alleged threats to carry out high school or college campus shootings.
