John Jerry: What the Wells Report says

Now that the New York Giants have signed offensive lineman John Jerry, one of the ex-Miami Dolphins players named in the Jonathan Martin bullying scandal, let's look at some of the things written about Jerry in the report.

What I am going to do here is simply quote the report. I am not going to rehash the entire Martin, Richie Incognito, Mike Pouncey, Jerry mess. You guys judge for yourselves. And please, keep it as clean as you can.

Martin traced the onset of what he considered to be verbal harassment to around the first game of the 2012 season, when, according to Martin, John Jerry began to call him a "bitch" repeatedly, in what Martin said was a disrespectful and demeaning tone. Martin reported that at one point, Jerry dared him to "say something back," and soon after he did not, the insults escalated, with Incognito, Jerry and Pouncey routinely calling him a "bitch" as well as a "faggot," a "cunt" and a "pussy."

Martin acknowledged that profanity is often thrown around casually by college and professional football players. He said he was not surprised or bothered to hear vulgar words directed at him from time to time. In his view, however, Incognito, Jerry and Pouncey repeatedly and frequently hurled profanity at him, and not in a joking manner, but in a demeaning tone, a view the evidence supports.

Jerry, according to Martin's testimony in the report, was also a participant in inapporpriate remarks made regarding Martin's sister.

According to Martin, after learning that he had a sister, Incognito, Jerry and Pouncey started making repeated graphic sexual remarks about her. ... According to Martin, when it came to what he considered to be verbal abuse, Incognito was usually the ringleader and Pouncey and Jerry tended to be followers, but Jerry was the worst offender with respect to his sister, because once Jerry got started he often kept going incessantly. Martin also claimed that Jerry (more than others) frequently made such insults in front of teammates from other units, including in the showers and in the team cafeteria; Martin viewed this as a calculated effort by Jerry to embarrass him.

Jerry is also quoted in the report.

"We all joke like that. Some days it would be me getting joked on, some days it would be someone else." He also asserted that jokes about Martin's sister were made only occasionally. Further, Jerry downplayed the highly obscene nature of the offensive line's banter, in contrast to Incognito, who frankly 77 admitted that the language he and his teammates used was frequently extremely vulgar and likely to shock most outsiders.

Valentine's View

The Giants have always been, and will continue to be, a class organization. There is nothing in the release announcing the signing mentioning Jerry's involvement in the bullying scandal, but I think it's safe to assume that the Giants have done a ton of homework regarding the Martin situation and what type of person Jerry is.

This tweet just came out from Paul Schwartz of the New York Post:

Jerry Reese on OL John Jerry: "We did our homework on John ... We were satisfied with the answers we got about John as a player and person."

— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) March 21, 2014

I would also have to believe it is safe to assume that Jerry will be watched closely throughout OTAs and the preseason, and that he will be on a short leash.

Your thoughts, Giants' fans?