William Byron won the Dayton 500, which was a marathon on Sunday night, after rain delays and yellow caution flags ultimately led to some overtime laps.
And those two overtime laps were an absolute thrill that saw multiple spin-outs and crashes that allowed Byron to win the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year.
Six of the last eight Daytona 500 races have ended in overtime.
Former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin is walking back his bullying accusations against his former teammate, Richie Incognito, which caused quite the scandal in 2013.
"I never believed for a second I was being bullied," Martin told ESPN. "It’s a story that I’ve been trying to fix for 10 years."
Incognito was suspended by the Dolphins in 2013 after reports that he bullied Martin to the point where the latter stormed out of the team’s cafeteria as a result of what was said.
Martin, a second-round pick by the Dolphins in 2012, was in his second NFL season when the bullying controversy surrounded him and Incognito.
The Dolphins later announced that Incognito was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team."
The league eventually got involved, retaining lawyer Ted Wells to investigate the incident, which found that Incognito, Mike Pouncey and John Jerry had all been engaging in bullying toward Martin.
The NFL’s report on the matter also said that Martin checked himself into a hospital and his mother needed to be flown across the country to be with him during that time.
But now, Martin is blaming his parents for the situation becoming as widely known as it is today.
"I had a situation with my teammates that I wasn’t super happy about," Martin told ESPN. "But my mother had her own read on the situation.
"I hadn’t even told my coaches, hadn’t told anyone. And suddenly it’s on ESPN, right?" he continued. "I didn’t believe any of the stances I was taking, right, where I’m this victim. I wasn’t a victim, right? And again, it’s been a point of consternation.
"My mother maybe in her mind – I can’t read her mind – she thought she was doing the right thing."
Incognito, who missed the second half of the 2013 season and the entire 2014 campaign due to the scandal, responded after seeing Martin’s new words on the matter.
"He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me," he said, bluntly on X. "Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie! They lied to protect his money. He quit…the team had every right to claw back that money. His mom started the bullying narrative with @espn @AdamSchefter so that @MiamiDolphins wouldn’t go after his signing bonus!"
While Martin’s mother, Jane, did not speak with ESPN for the interview, his father, Gus, did say his piece.
"His mom and I did strongly intervene," he said. "To make sure he was protected."
Gus Martin also played an alleged voice from Incognito, which was left for his son at the time. The man on the phone who is allegedly Incognito threatens Jonathan Martin, using graphic language including racial slurs.
"Hey, what’s up, you half-n----- piece of s---," Incognito allegedly says. "I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. I’ll s--- in your f---ing mouth. I’m going to slap your f---ing mouth, I’m going to slap your real mother across the face. F--- you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you."
Martin would eventually get traded to the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason after the bullying allegations were brought to light. However, he only played 15 games there before retiring after going to Carolina Panthers training camp the year after.
Meanwhile, Incognito signed with the Buffalo Bills after his suspension was lifted by the league. He spent three seasons in upstate New York before joining the then-Oakland Raiders.
During an appearance on "HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" in 2019, Incognito denied ever bullying his former teammate, blaming Martin’s "mental health issues and his demons" for being out of the league.
Incognito added, "I fit the bill. Hey, racist, homophobic, whatnot. What I’m saying was, we were close, personal friends. It wasn’t factored into, ‘Hey, this is guy talk, these are two alpha males talking to each other.’ Was some bad s--t said? Absolutely. But was this a case of bullying? Absolutely not."
Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Darrell Armstrong was arrested in the early hours of Saturday and charged with aggravated assault on his girlfriend, police said.
Dallas police officers were called to the 1000 block of Ross Ave. in downtown Dallas around 3:45 a.m., where an investigation found Armstrong and his girlfriend had been in an argument.
At one point, Armstrong hit her with a gun and threatened to shoot her, according to police. An arrest warrant affidavit for Armstrong, obtained by FOX 4 Dallas, said the incident started due to his girlfriend questioning him about a text from another woman.
The victim reportedly told police Armstrong had been drinking that night and demanded she give him her keys to their apartment. She then claimed Armstrong was on the phone with another person when he picked up a pistol and hit her on the side of the face.
Authorities said they saw a mark on the woman’s cheek below her left eye.
"'I’m going to shoot you,'" the victim said, reportedly quoting what Armstrong allegedly said to her as he loaded the weapon.
The Mavericks released a statement on Sunday afternoon regarding Armstrong’s arrest.
"The Dallas Mavericks are aware of an incident involving a member of our staff and are gathering all relevant information surrounding the incident," the statement reads, per FOX 4 Dallas. "We take this matter seriously. The employee has been placed on administrative suspension pending the outcome of legal proceedings.
"This matter is currently under review by the appropriate legal authorities. Due to this fact, we will allow the legal process to run its course and we will refrain from further comment while proceedings are ongoing."
Armstrong has been an assistant coach with the Mavericks since 2009, being a part of the 2011 NBA-champion squad along the way.
He is a member of the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame, having spent nine of his 14 NBA seasons with the franchise. Armstrong initially played overseas from 1991-94 before the Magic gave him a shot during the 1994-95 season.
Armstrong went on to win the 1998-99 Most Improved Player Award and Sixth Man of the Year Award after averaging 13.8 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds mostly off the bench over 50 games.
Armstrong also played for the Mavericks, New Orleans Hornets, Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets during his career, which ended in 2008.
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