In a ruling Wednesday, former NFL and Stanford offensive lineman Jonathan Martin has been ordered to stand trial over an Instagram post from February 2018 that is being regarded as a criminal threat.
Martin, who has spoken out about a personal history of mental health and suicide attempts, called out his former high school as well as a number of individuals for bullying and abuse, according to USA Today.
The post, which appeared nine days after a mass shooting Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., read, “When you’re a bully victim & a coward, your options are suicide, or revenge.”
The post tagged Harvard-Westlake school, as well as several former teammates from Martin’s high school, college and professional football career, and included an image of a shotgun.
While legal representation for Martin asserts that the post was a cry for help and not intended as a threat, Judge Shellie Samuels of the L.A. County Superior Court found the shotgun image concerning enough to demand further trial.
Martin is due to reappear in court Jan. 30.
