Former Dolphins OL Coach: Ted Wells Prints The Story That NFL Wants Printed
BOSTON (CBS) - New England is learning now what folks in Miami know all too well. That is, NFL investigator Ted Wells is a real pain.
Jim Turner, the former offensive line coach of the Miami Dolphins, and the only person to emerge from the BullyGate scandal that's still without a job, pulled no punches about Wells in a recent interview.
Earlier today on Mad Dog Sports Radio, Turner destroyed Wells for over twelve minutes, and came to the defense of the Patriots in doing so for their role in the league's latest scandal.
"When I look at the [DeflateGate] report and the one that I was a part of down in Miami, one thing that stands out to me is how smart Tom Brady is. He didn't trust the Wells Report, he didn't trust Wells. If he did, he would have complied a little more," Turner said.
In BullyGate, Wells found that offensive lineman Richie Incognito and others harassed teammate Jonathan Martin, and Martin went AWOL from the team because of it.
But according to line coach Jim Turner, Wells' Report didn't paint the full picture.
"Wells is not a good human being, and when I didn't give him the story he wanted he targeted me as part of a problem in Miami. He is not an independent investigator. He's not looking at both sides of the situation. He's hired by the NFL, and he's going to print the story that they want printed."
Turner continued:
"I was shocked when I saw what [Wells] made from the report in Miami. He made $4 million. So let's just call a spade a spade, OK? If you bring your car to the mechanic and there's nothing wrong with it and you ask him to find some problems, guess what? When he brings it back to you there's going to be some problems. All of a sudden Wells is the enforcer of integrity -- he's a lawyer. His profession is based on money and winning. It's not based on the truth."
Turner went into length about how Wells chose to highlight certain information and ignore others (sound familiar?) during his witness interview, including testimony that showed Martin was suicidal.
"They left that out of the report," Turner said. "I told Wells all of this stuff. [Martin] talked about being suicidal from his early teens and the history of mental health in his family, and it was just clear to me when I read the report that Richie Incognito was railroaded, and I was railroaded along with him."
Wells is not trustworthy, according to Turner, and he applauds Tom Brady and the Patriots for their perceived failing to cooperate.
"Tom Brady, Bill Belichick -- I wouldn't say a word to Ted Wells," Turner said. "Independent investigator my [butt]."
Turner adds that Ted Wells and his legal team don't understand the nuances of an NFL locker room and the context of certain situations, something Tom Brady's agent Don Yee has pointed out.
"The fact that Tom Brady is in this position is an absolute embarrassment," Turner said.
NFL Network reporter Jeff Darlington, who's based out of Miami, summed up the problem with Ted Wells' findings in both instances:
