Raiders G Richie Incognito Explains Threats to Cut off Late Father’s Head

Oakland Raiders guard Richie Incognito is providing more context behind his alleged threats to cut off the head of his deceased father, an incident that led to his arrest at Messingers Funeral Home in Scottsdale, Arizona in August 2018. In a teaser clip released for an upcoming episode of HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Incognito is shown explaining the different factors that led to the funeral home incident. He explained in the clip that the combination of heavy alcohol and marijuana use combined with a lack of sleep drove him to reportedly punch caskets and throw things.

The oddest part of the whole scenario is that Incognito actually believed that he was acting normally at the time. In his mind, he was doing nothing wrong.

“It was an emotional day for myself,” Incognito said, “and I showed up at the funeral home, and I wasn’t in my best health. I thought I was acting normal. You couple in the days not sleeping, then the heavy marijuana use, plus the drinking. All that is a recipe for disaster for a person like myself.”

According to Incognito, marijuana was the most potent drug that he was on at the time. He was not using anything else. “Absolutely not,” he responded when asked about other drug use.

Originally a third-round pick by the St. Louis Rams in the 2005 NFL Draft, Incognito spent four years with the Rams before heading to the Dolphins and becoming a Pro Bowl guard. However, a bullying scandal resulted in him being cut by the Dolphins in 2014. He would spend the year out of football altogether.

Incognito returned the league in 2015, signing with the Buffalo Bills. For three seasons, he played like a man transformed en route to three consecutive appearances in the Pro Bowl. He helped the New York-based team reach the playoffs for the first time since 1999 during the 2017 season, but the Bills ultimately fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars during the Wild Card round.

Following multiple incidents off the field, the Bills released him, leading to his retirement. This story was not finished, however, as he returned to the NFL once again prior to the 2019 season. Incognito signed with the Oakland Raiders to bolster the offensive line while trying to rebuild his public image. Although he first had to serve out a two-game suspension. Now that he is back in the building, Incognito is out to prove that he is more than the headlines from years past.