Dolphins owner Stephen Ross says he’ll meet with Jonathan Martin

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has broken his silence on the bullying scandal that has engulfed his team, saying he’s appalled by Jonathan Martin‘s allegations of daily harassment by teammates.

Ross said he plans to meet with Martin on Wednesday and that he has been in touch with the tackle through text messages.

“I’d like to hear from him what had happened, why he felt that way and what we did and what we could have done to prevent something like this from happening,” Ross said. “I want to hear the circumstances, the facts.”

The owner vowed before Monday night’s game between the Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get to bottom of the allegations and create a locker room culture that “suits the 21st century.”

“It couldn’t have been a worse nightmare,” said Ross, who was joined at the news conference by team President and Chief Executive Tom Garfinkel.

The NFL is investigating Martin’s allegations against teammates, including Richie Incognito. Martin, 24, is with his family in California to undergo counseling for emotional issues. Incognito, 30, has been suspended indefinitely.

A special investigator for the league will determine whether Incognito harassed Martin, and whether the Dolphins mishandled the matter.

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Ross strongly endorsed second-year Dolphins Coach Joe Philbin, saying he had the “utmost confidence” in the man he hired in 2012.

Ross said to he has formed an independent advisory group that includes Tony Dungy, Don Shula, Dan Marino, Jason Taylor and Curtis Martin to review organizational conduct policies and to make recommendations on areas for improvement.

Titans quarterback out for season

Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

“We’re just concentrating on these seven weeks,” Coach Mike Munchak said Monday after announcing Locker’s injury. “Right now we’ve just got to go forward and try to win a game.”

The Titans on Sunday became the first team to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars this season, 29-27. That loss dropped the Titans to 4-5.

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Munchak said whether Locker will need surgery to repair his foot will be decided in the next few days.

Fitzpatrick threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns as a reserve in the loss to the Jaguars, and he also ran for a touchdown trying to rally the Titans.

Etc.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee suffered a pulled hamstring Sunday against the New Orleans Saints and is likely to miss at least one game.... Green Bay Packers Coach Mike McCarthy confirmed that quarterback Matt Flynn worked out for the team, but he wouldn’t say if Flynn would be signed to back up Scott Tolzien. A report on NFL.com said Flynn will sign with the Packers, who are without Aaron Rodgers and Seneca Wallace.... Buffalo Bills Coach Doug Marrone says he’s leaning toward having rookie receiver Robert Woods miss one more game to rest a sprained left ankle. Woods, whose 349 yards receiving rank third on the team, was hurt in a 23-13 loss to Kansas City on Nov. 3.... Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson took part with a team in a light practice and apologized afterward for the attention he brought to the organization over the weekend after his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving.