Jonathan Martin hires high-profile lawyer

As Dolphins players continued to blame Jonathan Martin Thursday for the controversy enveloping the team, the second-year tackle hired a high-profile attorney to represent him in a case of alleged workplace misconduct.

David Cornwell, who represents Alex Rodriguez in his case against Miami-based Biogenesis and Major League Baseball, will represent Martin.

Martin left the team last week amid allegations he was bullied by guard Richie Incognito, who reportedly left a racially charged voice mail and profanity-laced texts. The Dolphins suspended Incognito indefinitely Sunday night.

Profootballtalk.com reported late Wednesday night that Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland told Martin's agent, Rick Smith, that Martin should "punch" Incognito to defend himself from the alleged bullying. According to the report, before his client left the team Oct. 28, Smith called Ireland to complain about how Incognito was treating Martin. The team did not comment on the report.

Meanwhile, Dolphins players continued to defend Incognito and blamed Martin for his handling of the situation.

"If you honestly ask me, it was a decision that Jonathan Martin made on his own to leave," recently acquired tackle Bryant McKinnie told ESPN.com. "There was a repercussion behind that involved Richie. That's between them now."

Asked why Martin wasn't getting as much support in the locker room as Incognito, McKinnie said, "That's because Richie is the one being bashed the hardest. Everybody knows Richie as a person, his personality and how he was in the locker room. For him to be portrayed kind of difficult for the guys to see that in the locker room because they actually know him."

Said defensive lineman Jared Odrick: "There's other ways that this could have been handled. It's tough to speak on."