Geno Smith was at least partly to blame for a fight that left the New York Jets quarterback with a broken jaw, according to ESPN analyst and former player Ryan Clark. IK Enemkpali, the man who punched Smith and was subsequently released by the team, has since been claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills, whose head coach Rex Ryan drafted the linebacker in 2014.
Clark spoke to two members of the Jets team who were present at the time of the locker-room altercation and said Smith was not without blame. “These guys were in each other’s face,” Clark said on ESPN radio show Mike & Mike. “Geno put his finger in his face and told the guy, ‘Well, you’re not going to do anything about it.’”
The confrontation was over $600 that Enemkpali said Smith owed him for a plane ticket to a training camp, and had not paid back. Clark said Enemkpali is well known for being careful with money. “This guy is really tight about money, he really is,” Clark said. “He couldn’t [move on].”
Clark, who played for the Steelers, Giants and Washington during his career, said Smith had been “smug” about the debt. “It became about the fact that Geno wasn’t necessarily apologetic and being in a way remorseful about the money when saying he was going to pay IK back and he didn’t. He was rather smug about it.”
On Tuesday, the Jets’ veteran cornerback Darrelle Revis said he put the blame on both players. “I hold both of them responsible,” Revis said. “Just how it all played out at the end when you gather all the information, but at the same time, you gotta move forward. There’s nothing really to harp on no more.”
The Jets head coach Todd Bowles made it clear the fight was below his contempt. “I’ll let them tell you,” Bowles said of the fight. “It’s something very childish that sixth-graders could have talked about ... If they want to tell you what happened they’ll tell you what happened. I told them I wouldn’t say anything.”
Smith will now be out of action for six to 10 weeks with the injury, while Enemkpali has been released by the Jets. Enemkpali has since expressed sorry for his actions. “I apologize to the Jets organization, coaches, teammates and fans,” Enemkpali said. “Geno and I let our frustration get the best of us, but I should have just walked away from the situation. I deeply regret and apologize for my actions. It was never my intention to harm anyone. I appreciate the opportunity I had with the Jets.”
Enemkpali was arrested while a student at Louisiana Tech after hitting an off-duty police officer in a bar fight, but Jets guard Willie Colon said he had worked hard since joining the team. “Since I’ve known IK, all he’s done is come to work and try to become a guy for this organization,” Colon said. “He’s always played his tail off. So details at this point are here and there. Our quarterback is sitting at home with a broken jaw, we have an outside linebacker that isn’t with us anymore. It’s a loss.”
The NFL could punish Enemkpali under its personal conduct policy, while the linebacker could be the subject of criminal proceedings if Smith were to press charges.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is expected to step up as the Jets’ starting quarterback in Smith’s absence, and said he is ready to make the role his own. “If I didn’t want to be here and if I didn’t love this game and if I didn’t have confidence in myself then I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you guys,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “I would be on vacation with my five kids, sailing off into the sunset with a career that nobody probably thought I would’ve had. But for me I’m not satisfied with what I’ve done.”
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