Another day, another fight at training camp. Most of the time, fights between teammates during practice are nothing more than tempers flaring and guys taking a couple swings at each other. Then the next day, all is forgiven and they go back to being friends like nothing ever happened. However, when a fight broke out in the Jets locker room on Tuesday morning, things did not end so smoothly.
Jets quarterback Geno Smith and linebacker I.K. Enemkpali got into it shortly after practice ended on Tuesday. What they were arguing about is still unclear (don’t worry, we’ll be investigating) but at some point, Geno put his finger in I.K.’s face. In retaliation, I.K. sucker-punched Geno right in the face. He hit him so hard that Geno now has a broken jaw and needs to have surgery. The team announced that he’ll be out six to ten weeks, meaning that he will miss at least the first few games of the season. As for I.K., he can kiss his career with the Jets goodbye. When you mess with the quarterback, you’re messing with the future of the entire team. The back-up linebacker, who has been known in the past to have a hot temper and violent tendencies, was released by the Jets immediately.
The Jets’ new head coach Todd Bowles is not at all amused. During a post-practice press conference, he addressed the situation, saying what caused the fight between the two players was “something very childish that sixth-graders could have talked about and it had no reason to happen.” He also added that the altercation was not football-related but he wouldn’t give out any more details. When talking about Enemkpali, he said “It’s something we don’t tolerate, something we can’t stand. You don’t walk up to a man and punch him in the face.”
With Geno Smith gone for at least the first part of the season, it’s looking like Ryan Fitzpatrick, who played for the Texans last season, will likely be the Jets’ new starting quarterback. It’s a shame considering both Smith and Enemkpali were looking pretty good at camp. But then again, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that Smith will be sidelined for a while. Anyone who’s watched a Jets game in the past couple of years knows that the team could use some serious help at the quarterback position and maybe Fitzpatrick can provide just that. At least Wikipedia seems to think so.
As for Geno, he seems to be in good spirits. He posted this picture on Instagram after the incident and let his fans know that he’ll be back soon.
Sheesh…these ballers are crazy! Somebody’s gotta put this fight on Worldstar.
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