Report: Eyewitnesses to punch say Geno Smith ‘deserved it’
This will be a story that focuses not on the obvious news, but the underlying message behind it.
According to the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta, eyewitnesses say quarterback Geno Smith was acting aggressively toward linebacker IK Enemkpali right before Enemkpali punched him in the face. Smith broke his jaw and will be out 6-10 weeks. Enemkpali was cut, though claimed by the Buffalo Bills.
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This is from Mehta’s story:
Smith “was up in (Enemkpali’s) face and pointed/touched his face,” according to a source.
“Geno deserved it,” another source said.
I’m not so interested in if Smith really deserved it or not, because I don’t believe Smith really “deserved” to have his jaw broken. I’m more interested in the reaction from sources who saw the fight in the Jets locker room. Nobody seems to be rushing to defend the guy. It was also more than a little curious that Rex Ryan, who was Smith’s coach for two years, immediately claimed Enemkpali off waivers. Maybe it’s looking way, way too deeply into a roster transaction, but would Ryan do that if he held Smith in a high regard?
There are a few stories defending Enemkpali. ESPN analyst and former longtime NFL safety Ryan Clark said, presumably after hearing details of the fight from others, that Smith was “smug” about paying Enemkpali back $600 over a plane ticket Enemkpali bought for him. Darrelle Revis said, “I hold both of them responsible,” according to the New York Post.
What there hasn’t been is anyone rushing to defend Smith.
I don’t buy into a quarterback needing to be a team’s leader; that’s a narrative created because of our strange and strong desire to make quarterbacks out to be larger than life. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger admitted he wasn’t a good teammate early in his career, which everyone kind of knew already, and the Steelers won a Super Bowl anyway because their leadership came from elsewhere.
But it’s still a little surprising that everyone seems to be taking the side of the guy who slugged the quarterback, not the quarterback who needs surgery to fix a broken jaw. You’d just expect that, if a quarterback got slugged in the jaw, more of his teammates would be defending him in public.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
