As a Mountaineer fan, it would have been nice to see Geno sink or swim on his own performance. Now there is a risk he will be out of a job and he didn't even get to play a game this year yet.
I wish the term "sucker punch" would stop being used. Smith wasn't "sucker punched" as they were face to face. Anyway, were I a low round draft pick earning minimum money and the starting QB tells me to F**k Off I would have punched him as well.
CWM, a sucker punch is any punch you're not expecting. Two guys arguing in a professional locker room? I'm sure Smith had no idea this guy was gonna swing.
7
I have heard a number of "talking head" ex-jocks on ESPN and Fox Sports say they do not believe it was a "sucker punch". So let's agree to disagree. If you are arguing with someone, particularly knowing you are in the wrong, and you put your finger in their chest or face and say "And you are not going to do anything about it" then getting punched shouldn't be a surprise.
Can someone tell me why there have been no charges filed? Has anyone commented that Geno Smith, getting punched by a lineman, is lucky to be alive? It seems to me Enemkali it fortunate he didn't kill Smith. He could easily have been killed either from the force of the punch or by hitting his head. It's one thing when these behemoths are fighting each other with their pads and helmets on. It's another to walk into a punch in the locker room.
Why is everyone more worried about who plays quarterback for the Jets than the fact that there was just a case of attempted murder or, at the very least, manslaughter.?
Why is everyone more worried about who plays quarterback for the Jets than the fact that there was just a case of attempted murder or, at the very least, manslaughter.?
4
"Can someone tell me why there have been no charges filed?" Ask Smith.
It's at least battery. I could see if Geno gets cut a civil suit because the linebacker impacted Geno's professional ability.
J-E-S-T-S!
J!
E!
S!
T!
S!
J-E-S-T-S!
J!
E!
S!
T!
S!
J-E-S-T-S!
1
One looks at Enemkpali's biceps raises the prospect of roid rage...
6
To recap: A cement-headed jock attacked another overpaid, semi-literate NFL mediocrity over something as idiotic as a $600 debt? *Yawn* And people still care about pro football? Amazing.
4
And I thought the Bears were screwed up....
3
Hoo-boy. 45 years of futility since Super Bowl III. Perhaps Joe Namath can be persuaded to come out of retirement.
Losing your starting quarterback before the season starts is never a good thing. But the Jets (maybe the name should be changed to the "Jokes") can survive without him.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is an alumnus of Chan Gailey's offense - and he's had success. The good news is Fitzpatrick can keep the team afloat for a few weeks without presenting any massive downside.
Losing your starting quarterback before the season starts is never a good thing. But the Jets (maybe the name should be changed to the "Jokes") can survive without him.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is an alumnus of Chan Gailey's offense - and he's had success. The good news is Fitzpatrick can keep the team afloat for a few weeks without presenting any massive downside.
2
Enemkali would stand to make over $400,000 this year if things had worked out with the Jets. There is research available showing that NFL players have a lower incidence of violence than the general population. Few people other than Jets fans will care if he broke Smith's jaw and if Enemkpali can actually play football, he'll be quietly signed by another team within a couple weeks.
No he won't. What if he had done that to Eli Manning or Peyton Manning or another top quarterback? You can't have a loose cannon like that on your team. He's done IMO.
1
Speedy recovery to Geno Smith...
3
He may have done the Jets a favor.
Why is it a "Sucker " punch? Just because Jets management said so to make their QB look better? What if Geno really provoked this? Maybe he really is a "Sucker!" No one seems to have tried to get the other side of the story. Great pseudo journalism.
Do you have proof that something other than what was reported happened?
5
The point is it's not expected that a team member will break the jaw of the starting quarterback. Tell me the last time that happened and then how Smith expected it.
Don't worry Jets fans. Fitzy will come through for you. Just like he did for us Texans.
If it's not tolerated, When, Where, Why, Who, and How did it happen? (My sincerest apologies to the Legitimate News Industry for mangling this quotation.)
2
Geno is the only NFL QB who had so little respect that a player on his team would punch him out.
Good luck to IK on finding another organization that would sign a guy who would deck his team's starting QB.
Good luck to IK on finding another organization that would sign a guy who would deck his team's starting QB.
2
Da Rex Ryan Bills.
The latest version of "Stupid Jet Tricks"!
2
"Bowles cut Enemkpali without hesitation after gathering information, and he said he would have done the same with anyone else."
Right, I'm sure that if Geno sucker-punched Enemkpali that Bowles would have cut Smith "without hesitation". He probably would have *still* cut Enemkpali for hurting Geno's hand while getting his jaw broken...
Right, I'm sure that if Geno sucker-punched Enemkpali that Bowles would have cut Smith "without hesitation". He probably would have *still* cut Enemkpali for hurting Geno's hand while getting his jaw broken...
3
I think he meant that he would have cut anyone who punched the starting quarterback.
Another incident of violence in a violent sport which mirrors this countries underlying anger.
5
geno needs to pay the man his 600! that's pocket change---geno spends more than than on Hennessy at the club on Friday nigh!
1
Geno should punch out (on the timeclock.)
It appears that Smith owed that brother $600.00 that was suppose to cover his expenses for attending the football camp sponsored by Geno and that was the cause of the dust up. Now I get it that grown men are supposed to be able to conduct themselves with with far more discipline; but I understand! If you're one of the leaders of that team making far more then IK; why didn't Geno just pay the man? IK is gone; but there will be lingering resentment on this team for as long as Geno acts like there are rules for his teammates and different set of rules for him.
3
Yes sir ree bob, lets just throw away million dollar salary and benefits over 600.oo bucks and being young, arrogant, and completely stupid. The venerable George Bernard Shaw said for the world to know and to never forget: " Youth is wasted on the young!"
1
That was Mark Twain, not Shaw.
2
Not to argue, BUT goggle in the quote on the young, mark twain, and you will find that you also are incorrect
3
Supposedly Oscar Wilde said it too. It's such a spot-on statement, everyone is fighting over who stated it first. I'll remember to duck . . . just in case this gets out of hand.
4
No matter how bad this all sounds, I hope it does not cause us to lose sight of the real miscreant in the NFL -- Tom Brady deflating a football!
2
This is awful. Without Geno Smith, the Jets could finish last in the league in offense. Oh...wait. Still, at least a Jets defender put a good hit on a quarterback.
2
Enemkpali punched a cop, folks. And the Jets drafted him anyway.
What kind of out of control rage machine do you have to be to punch a police officer? That is someone who can't see consequences 5 seconds down the path, much less 5 days or 5 years. This is not a disciplined person who can be a professional anything. It's insane that football teams like the Jets think they can make a consistent, reliable professional out of such a person.
What kind of out of control rage machine do you have to be to punch a police officer? That is someone who can't see consequences 5 seconds down the path, much less 5 days or 5 years. This is not a disciplined person who can be a professional anything. It's insane that football teams like the Jets think they can make a consistent, reliable professional out of such a person.
9
undercover officer
2
Blame the sport. It promotes aggression and loss of impulse control and judgement. This kind of locker room fight is unprecedented . where else will you come across an athlete driving at 143 mph with a child. This sport is not intended for human consumption
3
Is it possible to write an article regarding the Jets without resorting to BUTT FUMBLE memories? I stop reading when I come across this.
What is it about the NFL that seems to attract these men with serious character issues and a propensity for violence? Is it the nature of the sport itself or are these guys just bad dudes who should not be in the NFL in the first place.
We never hear about this kind of behavior with tennis players, baseball or even basketball players. I suspect then its the violent nature of the sport.
A vast majority of NFL players go about their business without any brushes with the law. I suspect however that teams overlook the past behavior all in the interest of winning.
Enemkpali did not make a smart choice as he's now without a job and teams will be reluctant to sign him - scratch that, he'll be on someone's roster pretty soon.
Richardson was going 143MPH with a loaded gun, a 12 year old and 2 adult males in the car which smelled of weed when pulled over. The report also stated that the officers observed Richardson reach down between his legs and that's where the gun was found. That was not a smart choice as he could have been shot.
We never hear about this kind of behavior with tennis players, baseball or even basketball players. I suspect then its the violent nature of the sport.
A vast majority of NFL players go about their business without any brushes with the law. I suspect however that teams overlook the past behavior all in the interest of winning.
Enemkpali did not make a smart choice as he's now without a job and teams will be reluctant to sign him - scratch that, he'll be on someone's roster pretty soon.
Richardson was going 143MPH with a loaded gun, a 12 year old and 2 adult males in the car which smelled of weed when pulled over. The report also stated that the officers observed Richardson reach down between his legs and that's where the gun was found. That was not a smart choice as he could have been shot.
2
It's football. No one said brains were involved.
3
They should dump Smith! A leader can't go around stiffing the people around him, it show that he has no respect for them. Plus, if he agreed to be at a charity event as reported last night on the radio, even more so. Clearly Smith is all about himself. The Jets won't win until they have a QB that is all about the team. Basically, no one will bleed for a total jerk, which is what Smith is.
1
Well said, JMZ and the incident reflects the national malaise--poorly paid second string linemen v. grossly over-paid quarterbacks.
Thank you for deflection the attention away from the 49ers!
1
NFL = National Felons League!
3
Sounds like Smith skipped out on a charity event, thus embarrassing Enemkpali. The real issue was probably the no show. The refusal to refund the $600 was probably what pushed Mr. E over the edge.
2
My initial thoughts? Typical J-E-T-S and here we go again. Each year begins, for any professional sports team with the premise that this could be the year. Not so with these "loveable" losers. As another reader commented (judgeroybean), these men, and I use that term very loosely, are not and should not be used as role models. The impression we get from this incident and others like it - if we could make the point that there are similar ones on other teams in other cities - is that some are spoiled millionaires whom the system has allowed to remain children at heart.
1
It now is apparent that the Pats really aren't cheaters....but the Jets are still buffoons. Silver lining for Jets fans is that unlike Buttfumble, this wasn't caught on tape. Wot a riot.
1
Like it or not, there's a lot of macho jobs where fist fights are an accepted way of solving differences.
2
"“Geno and I let our frustration get the best of us, but I should have just walked away from the situation,” he said. “I deeply regret and apologize for my actions. It was never my intention to harm anyone.”
Declining to address specifics of the disagreement, Revis said he held both players responsible."
Both of those thoughts trivialize a violent response. I don't care what words Geno Smith might have said, punching a person is not an appropriate response, ALL blame should land on Enemkpali. Unless Smith swung at him first, but there's no indication that happened. His statement sounds like it's putting most of the blame on Smith. Idiot.
Declining to address specifics of the disagreement, Revis said he held both players responsible."
Both of those thoughts trivialize a violent response. I don't care what words Geno Smith might have said, punching a person is not an appropriate response, ALL blame should land on Enemkpali. Unless Smith swung at him first, but there's no indication that happened. His statement sounds like it's putting most of the blame on Smith. Idiot.
4
Sports violence could be largely brought to a halt if the perps were immediate arrested and charged. There is no free pass in the law for athletes.
2
A wrong in life and a wrong in leadership. If Smith refused to reimburse a much lower paid teammate for laying out money for Smith's transportation to a charity event that Smith knew about and then did not use, Smith is a chump who lacks good character and cannot command respect, and his teammates know that. Absent more information, good riddance to both of them.
Dollars to donuts, Enemkpali gets a phone call from Rex Ryan within the week. Then, on Thursday, November 12, the NFL will heavily promote the game between these two titan-teams as a rematch between Enemkpali and Smith. And, the carnival barker that he is, Rex Ryan will start Enemkpali for the first time in the season to add to what is the real source of excitement in the NFL today.
2
George Carlin was right. Men are stupid.
4
He is now going to try out for a part in '' Dumb and Dumber, the NFL.''
Lots of competition for the part.
He may also get the "Dexter Manley Award" if this keeps up
Lots of competition for the part.
He may also get the "Dexter Manley Award" if this keeps up
Why wasn't Enemkpali arrested and charged with assault? Oh, yeah, wait, it's the NFL, where real-world crimes are ignored.
3
Oh yes, football. That's the sport that delays the start of "60 Minutes" by an hour each Sunday evening.
1
Why does this absurd "sport" still exist? Over-muscled sixth-graders.
3
It exist due to simple nature. Hundreds of millions of people enjoy watching the sport and participating in other activities involving the sport. Also hundreds of thousands of people try to play in the sport and play smaller versions of the sport because of how much they love the game and how much it satisfies them as a human being.
1
The Jets make the Knicks look like the Spurs. The Jets should change their name to the Bi-Planes. If the cause of this incident was "unpaid travel reimbursement to a charity event", I'M Clark Kent! You can't whitewash the punch and the damage it inflicted, but you sure as hell can whitewash the true reason. Maybe someone will leak that.
1
John Idzik strikes again! He drafted both of them.
Now THAT's funny!
1
The NFL is riddled with dangerously violent men, a threat to a peaceful society. Their disappearance would be a blessing. I suppose I can tolerate them beating their brains to pulp. But I don't like how they abuse their wives. BTW how's Hernandes doing these days?
4
Well now the Jets won't have to put up with Geno's horrible play. It's a win-win situation. Any QB is better than Gino.
Let's see: how many games should Enemkpali be suspended? Based on the Goodell domestic-violence-no-bad-press-for-NFL meter, about 8. Or maybe the entire season. Ha.
The NFL represents the evil of monotony in a world of gross hypocrisy.
Pope Frances calls it the tyranny of capitalism. The games of the rich would also fit.
Pope Frances calls it the tyranny of capitalism. The games of the rich would also fit.
1
First Jason Pierre Paul loses a finger in a bizarre 4th of July freak fireworks accident. Now Geno Smith is going to be out for most of the season thanks to an equally bizarre locker room brawl. Whatever happened to the unwritten rule of football that the quarterback is never ever touched no matter what??? The Football Gods really, really hate New York.
What with the police, the NFL players, and politicians, all those "anger management" classes must be overflowing!
1
Some teams are snakebit. Others have trouble and problems dog them because dysfunction and lack of discipline pervade the entire organization for years and years.
The Jets fall in the latter category. My guess is that the owners and managers and coaches of that team just don't know how build from one success to the next and don't instill a belief in pulling together, in working constantly at improving.
So you wind up with a team that doesn't know how to win, a changing cast of players who year in and year out don't know what success looks like. You can't blame any one person, but it typically takes a core of outstanding players and a great, no-nonsense coach to wring the loser mentality out of the team.
I have no idea if Bowles can be that coach. I hope so for the sake of Jets fans. But there probably aren't many players on the Jets that measure up. It'll be a long time before the Jets are great again.
The Jets fall in the latter category. My guess is that the owners and managers and coaches of that team just don't know how build from one success to the next and don't instill a belief in pulling together, in working constantly at improving.
So you wind up with a team that doesn't know how to win, a changing cast of players who year in and year out don't know what success looks like. You can't blame any one person, but it typically takes a core of outstanding players and a great, no-nonsense coach to wring the loser mentality out of the team.
I have no idea if Bowles can be that coach. I hope so for the sake of Jets fans. But there probably aren't many players on the Jets that measure up. It'll be a long time before the Jets are great again.
1
I am so glad that I binned my season tickets and PSL's. They are a bunch of losers, and their owner is #1 in that category. They are the laughingstock of the NFL.
Folks in DC might challenge you on who's the #1 loser owner. Arrogant, control-freak, racist Dan Snyder is at the top of our list.
Who was that character from Peanuts with the cloud hanging over his head? Pigpen? Pigpen, meet the Jets.
Respelling: Introducing the New York Jest.
Respelling: Introducing the New York Jest.
The team should be disbanded and reorganized starting with a new knowledgeable owner and ending up with a new coach. The quarterback has a broken jaw and the coach proclaims that he may not be the starter when he returns? This is the height of absurdity.
Football is entertainment. Politics is entertainment. Let's be grateful for the entertainment we pay for, it's expensive.
2
Bowles himself should be fired. He has not integrity, which is why his team continues to act the way they do.
1
Dan Bray wants head coach, Todd Bowles, who hasn't coached a single Jet game yet, fired. He says he lacks "integrity." How so, Dan Bray? What exactly do you know about Coach Todd Bowles and the days-old Jet camp that compelled you to write this? Or what exactly is it about Coach Bowles you do not like?
What? How is this incident Bowles' fault?
If nothing else, it's 15 minutes of fame for Smith and Enemkpali.
6
. . . and a lifetime of shame for Enemkpali. What a knucklehead.
AHH, THE NFL. Just gotta wonder what kinda drugs make a dude punch out his QB (same team remember) over a $600 insult.
Role models for thousands of kids just about to go back to school and excited as heck to engage in a great American pastime that teaches camaraderie, teamwork, the goal of hard work an working together over winning at any cost...you know how you play the game thing..
But it is the NFL-National Finance League. Can't wait for the season to start!
Role models for thousands of kids just about to go back to school and excited as heck to engage in a great American pastime that teaches camaraderie, teamwork, the goal of hard work an working together over winning at any cost...you know how you play the game thing..
But it is the NFL-National Finance League. Can't wait for the season to start!
15
Yes, surely children should look to our nation's leaders as role models... No? Well, the church can be trusted to... No? Perhaps film or television actors can steer them in the right... No? Well there's always the police to instill a sense of equitable... No? Maybe their parents could be their role models instead of outsourcing it to others... ... ... No? Fair enough.
I just don't understand why Enemkpali wasn't arrest for assault. What, are the laws suspended in the locker room? Ridiculous. Pro Football is lame and should fade away.
37
Smith would have to file criminal charges with the police before Enemkpali could be arrested...and it would be for battery not assault. (assault is threatening words or non-contact motions, battery is physical contact)
Okay, battery then. But as I understand the law, the victim does not have to file criminal charges with the police. For example, if a police officer in NYS observed a battery in progress, could not the police arrest the offender without a filed complaint?
Geno should have paid the $600 to Ikemefuna. He said he would show up at a charity event and blew it off costing Ikemefuna $600. A team leader would have paid the $600 and contributed to the charity. But Geno being out is really no big deal... next!
11
A close friend to Geno died from a car accident which made him miss the event. Apparently reports close to players say Geno offered IK the money and a disagreement occurred which led to the fight. The times didn't do all of their hw
Consider how much these "men" get paid. $600 is a pittance. It's like you, an average working smuck, owing your colleague a dollar. Yes, there is honor in fulfilling your obligation, but his response was well out of proportion to the situation. So color me suspicious....seems like something more is going on here than a paltry $600 bucks.
Juuust sayin' is all.
John~
American Net'Zen
Juuust sayin' is all.
John~
American Net'Zen
1
It is beyond stupid and immature for ikefuma to have sucker punched him for any reason much less over $600! The man made more than 400k in the last year and but for his complete idiocy would've made more this year! I don't care if Smith insulted ikefuma's mother, he had no right! And his 'apology' in which he says both Geno and he let tempers get out of control confirms that he's a jerk. This wasn't a physical altercation----he SUCKER PUNCHED a man and broke his jaw!
1
At least the broken jaw will heal. Nothing will heal the onslaught of CTE that many players will suffer after they retire.
11
I heard Geno tried to throw a punch, but it was intercepted.
41
by far, the best post on this thread....LOL!!!
When is the attacker going to be arrested and charged? Look at the pictures, the man’s arm is a lethal weapon and football players like prize fighters must not be permitted to use their development and skills in the commission of a crime. This was assault and battery and must be investigated by law enforcement. No free rides for professional athletes - none whatsoever.
28
"The Jets’ previous general manager, John Idzik, drafted Enemkpali, 24, in the sixth round in 2014, aware that he had been arrested in 2011 and charged with battery on a police officer while at Louisiana Tech."
The disturbing event cited above points to two serious deficits that cannot be dismissed no matter how quickly a player learns team playbook, etc. Impulse/temper control and compliance problems with lawful authority (assaulting a cop never ends well, even if the college steps in to mitigate the damage). Past behavior *is* predictive of future performance.
Lots of talk from the commentariat about where IE lands next, but given the "knew or should have known" standard, it seems it might be reckless for the next team to take on a loose cannon.
The disturbing event cited above points to two serious deficits that cannot be dismissed no matter how quickly a player learns team playbook, etc. Impulse/temper control and compliance problems with lawful authority (assaulting a cop never ends well, even if the college steps in to mitigate the damage). Past behavior *is* predictive of future performance.
Lots of talk from the commentariat about where IE lands next, but given the "knew or should have known" standard, it seems it might be reckless for the next team to take on a loose cannon.
25
Such a wonderful, character-building game, so say its grizzly advocates. A grand example of a “sport” the wider and more sophisticated world rejects.
12
(cue orchestra)
When you're a Jet,
You're a Jet all the way
From your first sucker punch
To your last dyin' day.
When you're a Jet,
If the spit hits the fan,
You got teammates around,
You're an NFL man!
You're never alone,
You're never disconnected!
You're home with your own:
When lunacy's expected,
You're not protected!
Then you are set
With a capital J,
Which you'll never forget
Till they cart you away.
When you're a Jet,
You stay a Jet!
(With apologies to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim)
When you're a Jet,
You're a Jet all the way
From your first sucker punch
To your last dyin' day.
When you're a Jet,
If the spit hits the fan,
You got teammates around,
You're an NFL man!
You're never alone,
You're never disconnected!
You're home with your own:
When lunacy's expected,
You're not protected!
Then you are set
With a capital J,
Which you'll never forget
Till they cart you away.
When you're a Jet,
You stay a Jet!
(With apologies to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim)
38
Yeah, you better apologize to Bernstein and Sondheim! :) Actually, it's a brilliant parody and a great laugh!
Really aren't we getting into our Pollyanna mode? On Sunday we relish these guys getting on the field and beating the tar out of each other. We watch those great tackles over and over. We hear the helmets crashing guy’s chests and love it. After the game we expect our Gladiators to become Clark Kent and stow their Superman costumes until next Sunday. Football is a sport where violence is celebrated and rewarded. Maybe it’s time we got real with this. When will we ever learn you just can't unleash the Gladiator on Sunday? You have know there are scores of domestic violence incidents that go unreported in this sport every year. After the Ray Rice case few wives would be willing to come forward and lose everything.
20
Whoever is to blame for this unfortunate incident, I just wish Geno Smith a speedy recovery.
11
This episode does show something about how Geno Smith is viewed on the team. Most likely every team has players who are equally immature or violent or just plain idiots, yet I can't imagine any of the top QBs in the league getting punched out by a teammate. They all command respect from their fellow players, they all are viewed as leaders, which would prevent this from happening. I'd say what just happened is a sign that Geno isn't viewed with respect and isn't considered a leader.. and that alone is a good reason he shouldn't be the QB for much longer. (ok, ok, his very mediocre play is another good reason..)
9
Wow! Some people just like to blame the victims. You don't think it's more obvious sign that IE is a seriously disturbed man?
12
106 people have Recommended BA referring to professional football players as "Overpaid, undereducated hulks of mindless muscle who have learned nothing in life."
I wonder if BA or any of the 106 knows any professional athletes. I wonder if BA or any of the 106 has played competitive sports as adults, and I don't mean video games. What are the odds BA or the 106 would appreciate a group they were a part of being stereotyped in a self-righteous, condescending, ignorant manner?
I wonder if BA or any of the 106 would like to repeat what he wrote to Sydney Seau.
I wonder if BA or any of the 106 knows any professional athletes. I wonder if BA or any of the 106 has played competitive sports as adults, and I don't mean video games. What are the odds BA or the 106 would appreciate a group they were a part of being stereotyped in a self-righteous, condescending, ignorant manner?
I wonder if BA or any of the 106 would like to repeat what he wrote to Sydney Seau.
12
Makes Joe Namath seem like Mother Teresa
8
A bottle of "Cristal Champagne" sells for $350 in a New York club and NFL players are notoriously famous for skipping out on those tabs- so being clocked in the mouth over $600 for limo and airfare.. Yeah it's possible.
6
Professionals who earn millions and are in a premier sports league who fight teammates in the locker room may earn a lot of money, but that are strictly bush league and are no better than thugs on a junior high school team. Ruins a "professional" team from the git-go. Earning millions and not pay a debt is bad enough. For a professional 1st string quaterback is "chump change," and just "coffee money." For the other person to punch him in the jaw and break it is just a gutter tactic and shows the guy is totally without class. Both in their own way are thugs.
13
I see a lot of sub-text here.
Football is their job. Mr Smith was assaulted by a fellow employee at his workplace. It's irrelevant what was supposedly said to instigate it. A broken jaw is really serious--that was a brutal punch with the intent to harm and with serious longterm affects. The police should have been called immediately and Mr. Smith should sue.
I won't hold my breath.
I won't hold my breath.
20
Do you understand that this took place in an NFL locker room, not an insurance company call center cubicle farm?
4
And your point? Are you saying the laws don't apply? Would a stabbing or shooting also be OK? Maybe he could have planted a bomb and taken out the whole team.
1
Do you understand a locker room is part of their workplace? This has nothing to do with a call center cubicle farm.
If a doctor is assaulted by another doctor in the workplace, it's irrelevant whether the assault takes place in the operating room, in the waiting area, in the bathroom, in a surgical scrub room. It's all the same.
This is their job. Team spirit and sportsmanship aside (another aspect of their job description by the way), he was assaulted by a fellow employee in the workplace with intent to serious bodily harm. Do you understand?
If a doctor is assaulted by another doctor in the workplace, it's irrelevant whether the assault takes place in the operating room, in the waiting area, in the bathroom, in a surgical scrub room. It's all the same.
This is their job. Team spirit and sportsmanship aside (another aspect of their job description by the way), he was assaulted by a fellow employee in the workplace with intent to serious bodily harm. Do you understand?
2
Is this a plot line from Ballers?
6
Why doesn't this kind of thing happen in pro hockey locker rooms? (Yes, hockey players on opposing teams fight, but only upon mutual consent from both guys, and the "fights" are almost never physically dangerous.)
Why is watching the NFL, with its bicep-kissing, show-boating players, a good fraction of whom do spectacularly dumb/illegal things off the field, such a different experience in character study from watching the NHL?
I'm asking. And no, it's not about race.
Why is watching the NFL, with its bicep-kissing, show-boating players, a good fraction of whom do spectacularly dumb/illegal things off the field, such a different experience in character study from watching the NHL?
I'm asking. And no, it's not about race.
3
But your question is about race. How many quarterbacks get their jaws broken in football. So far counting Geno I count one. So with one incident with football you ask why these things don't happen in Hockey? I guess you missed all of the toothless hockey players. You say your comment is not about race!
3
You don't think this kind of thing happens in pro hockey locker rooms? Of course it does. And no, it's not about Canadians.
4
In 2005 Bill Romanowski of the Raiders ripped off a teammates helmet and broke his eye socket. It ended his career. No team consequences for Bill's roid rage.
Hard to respect the Raiders after that one. Of course there are other reasons that make it hard to respect the Raiders.
Hard to respect the Raiders after that one. Of course there are other reasons that make it hard to respect the Raiders.
Brain damage signs show early....quick tempers...violence....wonder how many hits this guy has taken in all the games he's played?
13
Do you notice that all of this begins with money loaned to attend a "charity event" and ends up being about money not repaid?
These guys have so much that all they can do about it is fight over it.
These guys have so much that all they can do about it is fight over it.
11
Except for the pay, there is no substantive difference between pro football and ancient gladiatorial combat. A select group of large, powerful men is trained from early childhood to batter each other mercilessly, all for our entertainment. When their mostly short professional lives are over, they are ignored, left to await the onset the painful, crippling injuries that are the inevitable consequences of their careers for all too many of them. Given that the ability to excel in committing extreme aggression against each other is rewarded as it is, we cannot be surprised that it occasionally spills over into other parts of their lives; this latest sorry incident joins the spectacles of Ray Rice, Ray Lewis, Adrian Peterson, etc, etc. The players are brutalized and we are brutalized in watching them. There is only one real solution: Let’s turn off the TV, quit facilitating this abomination – go cold turkey and just resist the pull of the pro football vortex (no playoffs, no Super Bowl); take control of our lives and enjoy the immense amount of time it will free up.
29
I've already done that. I'm at peace.
6
Well said. Of course, as to resisting "the pull," resistance is futile.
1
Pretty quick job by Jets PR people for the story to go from the truth of a gambling debt to unpaid Airfare fees? Please, wonder if Goodell will have an independent investigation into the gambling in the jets locker room....?
6
Given that these players are paid millions of dollars for playing, it's hard to believe the total lack of self discipline which resulted in one player being dropped, and the other sustaining an injury that will keep him out of the game for weeks. Wonder if the owner of the Jets believes he's getting value for his money.
3
Enemkpali should be arrested for assault/battery. The Jets can file charges with the authorities whether G Smith wants to or not. This is a case of work place violence and against the policy of the Jets to provide a work place that is safe from violence. The state can charge the aggressor even if the victim does not testify- this is how the states get around the issue when domestic abuse victims are too frightened to testify. It is time these players are charged with assault in the work place and put in jail. This may reduce the level of violence off the field (though I doubt it!!!)
11
The NFL circus gets an early start to the 2015 season.
9
"[Fitzpatrick] has started 89 games in his 10-year NFL career, compiling a 33-55-1 record."
With a 33-55-1 record, who in their right mind would sign him to play any NFL position?
With a 33-55-1 record, who in their right mind would sign him to play any NFL position?
6
Some weird comments: Strangely enough, although the NFL is rich and powerful they are not a government agency and do not have the right to arrest anyone. That is up to the local police and prosecutors. What they do depends on who is willing to press charges and testify. The Jets fired the guy immediately. What else could they do?
4
It ain't easy being Green.
Oh, Jets. When will things turn around?
Oh, Jets. When will things turn around?
2
Bryce Petty is the real deal - he has the maturity, smarts, leadership and talent! He may need a period of adjustment but in the long run, he will be successful. That's all I need to know about Jets QB situation.
5
Arrested? Press charges? Police?
What are you people talking about?!?!?!
These men are professional athletes: competitive, tough, feisty and powerful. Heck, when I played high school football, fights would break out all the time during practice. Guys talked a lot of trash, got in each other's faces and yes, sometimes punched each other.
But nobody PRESSED CHARGES. Nobody CALLED THE POLICE. And absolutely nobody expected a guy to GET ARRESTED just for cracking someone in the jaw.
What are you people talking about?!?!?!
These men are professional athletes: competitive, tough, feisty and powerful. Heck, when I played high school football, fights would break out all the time during practice. Guys talked a lot of trash, got in each other's faces and yes, sometimes punched each other.
But nobody PRESSED CHARGES. Nobody CALLED THE POLICE. And absolutely nobody expected a guy to GET ARRESTED just for cracking someone in the jaw.
9
Exactly. You can tell most of these commenters have never been in a locker room environment in their life.
1
Shows the level of maturity in the locker room of people who make millions.
5
No offence, but high school athletes fighting is way different than professional athletes fighting, since many pros could probably kill someone with a full force punch to the head (it's happened). He broke his jaw and it requires surgery. I imagine even if 'back in the day' a high school athlete put a teammate in the hospital the reaction would be a little more than "boys will be boys." Plus, these guys just lost themselves their jobs over a quibble. What's so tough about that? Tough would be hanging in and kicking butt on the field (without seriously injuring someone) like they're paid to do.
2
Skins will hire him, with a raise
4
I'm betting the Vikings take him. He'll fit right in.
My money's on the Pats. He'll be a perfect fit.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Over aged, over paid, overhormoned juvenile delinquents.
Pro football in my lifetime (b. 1943) has gone from infancy through maturity, i.e the 1958 Colts/Giants, to senility. It's had it's day.
The NFL should be prosecuted under RICO.
On the bright side, baseball chugs along.
Over aged, over paid, overhormoned juvenile delinquents.
Pro football in my lifetime (b. 1943) has gone from infancy through maturity, i.e the 1958 Colts/Giants, to senility. It's had it's day.
The NFL should be prosecuted under RICO.
On the bright side, baseball chugs along.
18
Cold-cocked a New York City of the USA quarterback and no changes? The story must be deeper. No matter what happened, a guy who hits a New York City totally major market quarterback has a problem, every way you look at it.
5
Can someone, anyone, please explain to us normal people why this violently immature 'adult' was merely kicked off the team and not arrested for assault? Furthermore, I don't ever remember NFL teams of 60's, 70's and 80's having these constant and relentless rap sheet incidences of violent behaviors occurring as regularly as they do these days and, quite frankly, I'm sick, so tired of American youngsters having to witness, not only the violence and the cheating, but worse, the ridiculous tap-of-the-wrist 'punishments'. Enough already.
37
Geno Smith probably said he didn't want to press charges. Up until that point, Smith and Enemkpali were teammates, and if you've ever played a professional sport, you know that things often get heated, even between players supposedly on the same side. There was obviously a verbal altercation between the two men, and the linebacker made a very poor decision which might have ruined most of Smith's season. And that same poor decision, which probably took about a half-second to execute, just cost Enemkpali his job. Enemkpali didn't receive a tap on the wrist. He will probably never get to play in the NFL again. Imagine being a teacher who could never set foot in a classroom, or a lawyer who can no longer practice law. If that's not punishment enough, then I don't know what is.
4
@hubbelspace
Unless the perp is formally charged for assault, being kicked off the team means squat. We all know he has a better than 90% chance of eventually being picked up by another 'team' albeit his asking price will probably hinge on "future behavior". And that is exactly the problem. He learns nothing and becomes some other team's. or worse, a woman's problem. If Smith wants to be a pansy and not 'prosecute', then the team should. If not, you can be sure we'll be hearing more from Mr. E in the future and it won't be good.
Unless the perp is formally charged for assault, being kicked off the team means squat. We all know he has a better than 90% chance of eventually being picked up by another 'team' albeit his asking price will probably hinge on "future behavior". And that is exactly the problem. He learns nothing and becomes some other team's. or worse, a woman's problem. If Smith wants to be a pansy and not 'prosecute', then the team should. If not, you can be sure we'll be hearing more from Mr. E in the future and it won't be good.
3
Agree. This is a police matter. I can only imagine what would happen to me if I clocked an opposing attorney in the lawyers lounge.
4
As the old song goes: "Get your boxing gloves n'case some fool might wanna fight." The Jets have gone a long way down the tube since Weeb Ewbank and Broadway Joe and Matt Snell.
6
In the old days, the Raiders would now pick this LB up. Which outlaw-stocked team picks him up now? oh wait, the Patriots.
13
And the Patriots will turn him into a better player.
2
Until he pulls an Aaron Hernandez, that is. Or steals the other teams signals. Or lets too much air out of the ball. Or...
4
I wonder: could a sixth-grader break another sixth grader's jaw? Does the practice field in Florham Park, have Orlando/Disney-like sovereignty over the state of New Jersey. Is Mr. Smith required to press charges against Mr. Enemkpali for it to be considered criminal assault? Don't we have laws to protect PUBLIC safety? Even on the flawed streets where I live, someone would have been arrested based on witness accounts and there certainly wouldn't be a corporate press conference to tell reporters they can ask "their people" but they won't be saying anything about a CRIME committed at an NFL workplace.
17
Yes. A Miami Dolphin contended that he was bullied and was respected for it. This is much worse than bullying. It is criminal assault. Only pro athletes are immune to what the rest of us would mean arrest
2
and was disrespected for it.
Do you ever notice that photos of many football players these days, from the high school level to the locker room of the New York Jets, seem like mug shots?! Come to think of it, I think if you ever saw many of the Jet fans in the stands these days, by their behaviors and such, reminds me of the same! As a Jet fan of the early days of such class guys as Namath, Snell, Maynard, and Plunkett, I grieve for this!!!
12
Isn't Football a wonderful sport for our children to have in their lives? Such an example for their growth and development. I don't see one redeeming quality in the sport - unless we are looking to develop thugs, dishonest individuals, abusers of women, etc. etc. And they can't even control their own. What a horrible sport!!!
26
Bob, for a moment I thought you were describing last weeks Republican debate: "looking to develop thugs, dishonest individuals, abusers of women, etc. etc"
13
Welcome to the National Felons League.It gets worse every year.I'm 69 and remember the NFL glory days under Rozelle.Remember when Rozelle banned Karras and Hornung for a year for betting on one game?Now we have a bunch of uneducated,overpaid felons mimicking football for 4 hours every Sunday.It's a joke on the general public at our expense as we pay more for the products in the commercials.
25
"it's something we don't tolerate; it's something we can't stand" said the coach. Yet, the team signed Enemkpali even though while in college he was arrested for disturbing the peace and battery of a police officer. And then the Jets are "shocked", "shocked".
26
Oh, for those sweet, pleasant days of Joe Willie and company
6
They cut this guy immediately after an infantile locker room brawl, but Richardson-a supposed "star" who drove 143 mph with a 12 year old and a gun in the car- is still on the team. Priorities, I guess! Very sad
39
Why would anyone watch on TV or pay to attend a football game where grown men who earn often millions of dollars knock each other down, all too often with serious long lasting consequences. Here is an example of an immature guy inflicting injury on another, and this occurred in the locker room. Time to stop this brutal sport and devote resources to activities that benefit society
13
You can't spell "Jets" without "ignominy."
1
“Geno and I let our frustration get the best of us, but I should have just walked away from the situation,” Enemkpali said. “I deeply regret and apologize for my actions. It was never my intention to harm anyone.”
He should be arrested for assault, as punching a person hard enough to break their jaw is intending to harm them.
Like how he tries to share the blame on the person he assaulted.
He should be arrested for assault, as punching a person hard enough to break their jaw is intending to harm them.
Like how he tries to share the blame on the person he assaulted.
45
In case it is not common knowledge: Arrest, trial, and conviction for a crime does not require the victim file charges. The crime is against the state.
The police could -- and should -- arrest and charge Enemkpali. If there were witnesses -- which there must have been -- then Smith's willingness to cooperate in the process is not an impediment. Indeed, his refusal to provide detail could be looked upon as impeding an investigation -- itself an offense.
The police could -- and should -- arrest and charge Enemkpali. If there were witnesses -- which there must have been -- then Smith's willingness to cooperate in the process is not an impediment. Indeed, his refusal to provide detail could be looked upon as impeding an investigation -- itself an offense.
30
"Gino and I let our frustration get the best of us" ???!!
The unasked question is "How's that poor fist feeling, Ike?
The unasked question is "How's that poor fist feeling, Ike?
4
Reno threw some punches but they were intercepted.
2
Will the Jets sue Ikemefuna for destruction of property?
3
No kidding, my local paper ran a story this afternoon on the Jets preseason and have almost a full page dedicated to the risking star that just broke Geno's jaw. They said he looked good and would likely make a big contribution this year. To make matters worse Geno was one of the three other players they said was having a good camp and looking good for the season. Now two of the four players they were showcasing to fans are gone. Only the JETS can blow something positive.
22
Anyone who bet the Under on their O/U for interceptions this season just got handed a major gift.
2
As usual, the Jets rule the preseason press. Good for them.
1
Maybe the Jets can replace IK with Aldon Smith.
3
If you have a son, present him with a golf club, a tennis racket, a soccer ball, a baseball.......but, never, never a football. You may well have prevented serious brain damage and even death by avoiding everything football. Present him with the gift of a healthy life. And by pursuing other sport options, you can now sleep peacefully. And now, here, we have violence in the locker room by a teammate. Hard to see the NFL righting this sinking ship. Violence in the locker room, violence (e.g. targeting quarterbacks) on the field and domestic violence by players. Who needs this?
39
If you knew anything, you'd know soccer is the #1 sport for concussions. I don't think you're anyone to give opinions on sports injuries. Why even bother walking out of your house, right? I mean you could get hit by a bus!!
Soccer has a ton of concussive head injuries
And these beefy bundles of aggression, along with basketball players, are what kids aspire to be.
Not scientists, physicians, engineers.
Not scientists, physicians, engineers.
2
I was hopeful that the new coach would bring something good. So far it seems its 4th and 20 in the locker room.
6
I guess Geno did not have his red shirt on.
4
Maybe he did, and they were going by Star Trek rules, where the guy in the red shirt is first to drop.
8
Let me guess, an idea best left inside the brain but instead escaped in the form of an audible utterance from just above where the bone fractured.
Same old Raiders.
2
The blatant thuggery of the NFL continues...
17
One of the few times in recent memory that I'm happy I'm an Eagles fan.
5
Some organizations are just dysfunctional through and through, and the Jets are the epitome of that description. If you gave them Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Jim Brown and the Steel Curtain defense in their primes, they would doubtless find a way to screw things up.
6
The NFL will have to do a lot more than fine the Patriots a million dollars, take a 1st and 4th draft choice and suspend Tom Brady for four games if they expect the Jets to be competitive.
10
How much do we pay these fools?
9
Nothing. I don't spend a dime on the NFL - don't even bother to watch their games on tv. It is very liberating.
5
This could only happen to the Jets.
6
6 weeks out? Why is he going to miss so much time? His jaw is broken not his arm. Man, these American football guys are acting more and more like soccer players...
2
In 1967, Namath finished the game against the Raiders even though Davidson or someone broke his jaw. He said it was a tough piece of steak.
Probably if he has to be on a liquid diet for weeks his conditioning will lag.
You try shouting out, as a quarterback has to do at the line of scrimmage, with a broken jaw and you'll find out.
4
I guess nothing else is happening in the world if this story is given space on the NYT home page?
It should be buried in the Sports/Football/Funnies section!
It should be buried in the Sports/Football/Funnies section!
3
The New York Jets are a local team, and the loss of their quarterback in such a surprising way is local news.
Thankfully, did we really think it would take a long time, to change the story line away from Deflate Gate!
Kids with a grade 6 mentality would have talked it over....these guys have not reached that level of maturity. They should emulate the late Frank Gifford. This "sport" is forever stupid now.
11
This could be the best thing for The Jets in the last three years
5
Sure, but we need even more tax dollars supporting the billionaires that run these clubs. We must continue to buy them big fancy stadiums. We need to give even more college scholarship money to these fine examples of service to greater society.
8
Football is war as theater. So it's not surprising that there are any number of incidents involving violence on and off the field. It's endemic to the sport. -- thegamesmenplay.com
Hello Seahawks.
I'd still like to know what the argument was about.
3
@Peter Olafson. You are probably too intelligent to understand the "rationale" for the argument even if you were--especially if you were!--personally told by the two parties involved.
1
I'm sure Brady's behind this, and I'm confident that Roger Goodell will make the same determination. After all, the CBA says he can, regardless.
3
New head coach, new GM, same old J...E...T...S, Jets! Jets! Jets!
2
As a Giants' fan, may I say... Jay-Eee-Tee-Ess, Jets Jets Jets!!!
Can we just stop bashing sixth graders?
12
NBC Sports had a report this very day that over the past 260 weeks (5 years) there have been 260 NFL players arrested.
I don't understand the knee-jerk tendency sports fans have to reach for excuses to blame for players poor conduct (steroids, etc). Personal responsibility should not be checked at the door to our stadiums, for players or fans.
I don't understand the knee-jerk tendency sports fans have to reach for excuses to blame for players poor conduct (steroids, etc). Personal responsibility should not be checked at the door to our stadiums, for players or fans.
19
ya think the guy would would have been immediately released if he was a better player?
Ike should be reprimanded by Goodell. Something fitting.....harsher than clocking your wife, but less than being accused of letting air our of balls.
17
A crystal clear example of, among other things, a lack of leadership and discipline within the Jets organization. Does anyone think Carroll or Bellichick or another other top-tier coach would run a team where a 2nd-string LB would even BEGIN to think about swinging at the starting QB?
9
3rd string.
1
Suppose the Qb.was wrong???Does his position makes him right?Frack that,learn to duck
Enemkpali should be charged. If he is not restrained by law he will strike again. If the Jets don't pursue charges, the owner and managers should be disciplined.
16
Quick! Name a team other than the Jets, where something even remotely like this might happen. Do low-round draft picks scuffle on the practice field in pre-season? Absolutely. But to have the starting QB decked in the locker room? Only the J-E-T-S!
3
If it will make you all feel any better, Panther's QB Cam Newton got in a fight on Monday at practice with another player.
They make how many millions a year?
They make how many millions a year?
8
Smith had to have provoked Ikemefuma in someway to make him have this type of reaction. I'm not justifying his actions, however a football player just doesn't walk up to the quarterback and coldcock him in the face for no reason.
Bad blood in the locker room makes for a very long season.
Bad blood in the locker room makes for a very long season.
5
'...I'm not justifying his actions...'
Sure you are, as did Ikemefuma.
Sure you are, as did Ikemefuma.
2
I tend to agree with you Pete.We will hear the real story in a weeks time.
Right hook or left jab
Right hook or left jab
My brother-inn-law is a coach and he said his entire team of 5th and 6th graders are smarter and better behaved than Enemkpali. They would love to come to NY and give lessons to the JETS in sportsmanship, teamwork, and knowing when to duck. Seriously, this entire situation is extremely shameful and despicable. What a why to NOT start the season.
36
If they continue to play football, wait till they start to have head trauma which makes people prone to impulsive acts and for those who wish to bulk up to be pros start using PEDS that do a similar thing, and I'll bet those kids become as thuggish as the current crop of players.
And I thought "Send in the Clowns" stood a chance of being over when Rex Ryan "shuffled off, shuffled off, to Buffalo."
1
Hello, Jets fans, we Bills fans envy you. Rex Ryan, the new Bills coach of former Jets fame, has three quarterbacks of dubious quality going into the upcoming season. You, on the other hand, have Ryan Fitzpatrick, a proven, Harvard-educated quarterback who excelled in Buffalo a few seasons back. If your Ryan doesn't somehow work out, our Ryan will likely take him back in a New York minute.
5
The nature of the human animal with a high level of testosterone is given to rage which manifests itself in sexual conquest, high risk sports, road rage, gun violence, and war. Self control is not the nature of the human animal be it male or female!
1
I enjoy sports, but have never figured out why they are the only workplace where you can choke a supervisor, like Latrelle Spreewell; assault a teammate like this thug; or seriously injure an opponent from behind like many hockey players and the police do not care.
14
This dispute was not about football. Of course not. Why would the two Jet players spend any training camp time thinking about football?
6
Wait, New York still has an AFC team?
4
I read elsewhere that Smith stuck a finger into Enemkpali's face and that was what precipitated the punch.
I am not providing an excuse for the punch, just mentioning it, since the coach would not reveal what prompted the altercation.
I am not providing an excuse for the punch, just mentioning it, since the coach would not reveal what prompted the altercation.
1
OK...the police have now been informed of an assault that occurred; the specific place and time have been identified, the assailant and victim have been identified and it appears that eye witnesses are abundant. So, has law enforcement decided what it is going to do and when? Has law enforcement decided not to do anything? Since the New York Times reported this story, does the New York Times intend to follow-up on this story with law enforcement to determine what actions they intend to take and why?
36
Are you a defense attorney looking for work? This needs to stay between the two players involved. There's no need to involve the police.
It's not up to the NYT to dicsuss stories with law enforcement; I'm sure they will follow the story and report any actions the police take.
Why? Justice seems to have been swift and it doesn't look like Geno wants to press charges. A police investigation would just be a waste of resources.
Think Ike might have an anger issue? Perhaps brought on by steroid use? Just asking-
14
The whole stupid "sport" is about violence and anger to make money.
The money part got screwed up, so someone's got to go.
(Sorry: brain damage is too awful to enjoy this kind of stuff.)
The money part got screwed up, so someone's got to go.
(Sorry: brain damage is too awful to enjoy this kind of stuff.)
All the elements in this football story contribute to why I am a BASEBALL fan. Go Yanks!
22
Go, Cards!
Hmmm ... any chance steroids could be a factor in punching out your teammate and/or girlfriend or resisting arrest after driving a car 143 MPH with a child on board? Just a thought.
4
Surprise, Surprise, the Jets will be playing for a draft pick. Again
2
I have to think that a teammate breaking the starting QB's jaw has to be unprecedented in the history of the NFL.
9
I'm totally not interested in football but after getting to that third to last paragraph about the player arrested in MO driving 143 MPH with a 12 year old and a loaded gun in a car that smelled like marijuana, I think maybe I need to start paying attention. Not to the game but to the off season antics of the players.
25
On a joking note, I guess this proves that Geno Smith can't take a hit .... on a serious note, maybe the NFL should get out of the judging aspects of penalties and let the real police and judicial system deal with this. If they want to impose morality clauses and what not and impose suspensions and other things great, but it should not be the NFL being the judge and jury. However, this is what we get as a country when sports figures are idolized, and a gladiator mentality is upheld in the terms of tens of billions of dollars a year .... we get to deal with the extremes of life. There was violence in the early days of football; however, given the high level of taxation >80% they would be hit with, folks got to realize that the game was only an aspect of their life ... and not their entire life, and as such they needed to work and be employed with other normal human beings.
8
Roid Rage!
1
But that's OK in football. In baseball the player would be vilified and people would talk about how he's a user and needs to be removed. In football, it's acceptable to use PEDs, or display behavior that might indicate use.
1
I am amused by all the irrational extrapolation that is inevitably engaged in by fans when incidents like this occur. The fact is, this is a statistically anomalous event that is not representative of football players' general conduct. This event does not provide evidence that football players are hulking masses of brainless meat who have no self-control. Find some statistics that show football players have higher incidents of criminal behavior then the overall population before you come to that conclusion.
2
Well, it's obvious evidence that you probably didn't read the article !
2
"Statistically anomalous"? Maybe, if we consider it as a unique event. There are not that many reported fights in NFL locker rooms. But consider all the related violence, and we have a pretty clear pattern. I do not blame individuals. I think that working for the NFL must be an extremely stressful. There is little sense of "play." This is not a real game. Lives are at stake. But if we are going to do this kind of thing -- and if we care (I actually do not think we do care -- we have to find some way to protect against the ripples of damage that emanate from the professional football field, and seem to encourage spousal and child abuse, and other finds of violence. How? Maybe by the way contracts are structured, required therapy of some sort or another, actually there are probably a whole array of possibilities. But we do not care, as I said. Ikemefuna Enemkpali has been cut. The NFL is rid of him; next stop the criminal justice system. So what?
1
How come you don't show numbers that prove that it is a statistcal anomaly?
5
This is assault. Why isn't the moron who threw the punch in jail? NFL, National Felon's League. Just sick.
39
If they were playing some sort of stupid game there might have been consent to the punch, if not the broken jaw.
Because if you jailed every NFL player who threw a punch you'd have to build a lot of jails?
Not just assault, which is the threat of force, but a battery as well, the use of force.
2
After reading this story, you wonder whether this story would be believable if it wasn't true. While many of the comments are sophomoric, this episode reveals a grim reality. For a teammate to punch a starting quarterback--the most valuable franchise player--reveals the lack of camaraderie, if not depravity, to which the Jets have declined. Until they find their soul as a team, their fortunes will be as defined by this sorry episode.
73
These pro-ballers are basically thugs. When they're not beating on their wives or girl friends, they're beating on each other. Welcome to violence American style.
31
There should also be an internal fine of 6-10 weeks's of this guy's salary that the punching teammate should be forced to pay. I'm sure that's no small sum, and is equal, financially, to having this guy sit out for that lengthy time and the team's suffering as a result.
2
Did you notice that Ikemefuna Enemkpali, who threw the punch, was immediately released from the team?
1
"Outside linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali, who Bowles said threw the punch, was released immediately"
1
MH, the "punching teammate" won't have any money to pay. He's out of there.
2
As Joe Nocera's column on the NFL in today's paper also suggest, the National Football League is an enterprise that I find beneath caring about or following. Every time I do read a story about this league, it disgusts me. America would be a better place without the NFL.
31
Agreed. Well said, Robin.
1
NO one arrested for assault and battery? Why not? Is there an exemption for football players?
17
Pointless to prosecute. They'd all get off on an insanity defense.
1
To be fair, from his NFL.com draft profile: "Strengths Very thickly built. Flashes shock and violence in his punch. Highly competitive, plays hard and motor runs hot. Keeps battling to the quarterback."
Somebody should give that scout a raise.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/ik-enemkpali?id=2543598
Somebody should give that scout a raise.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/ik-enemkpali?id=2543598
28
From the link:
"In April '11, he was arrested following an off-campus incident and was subsequently charged with disturbing the peace and battery of a police officer. Was initially suspended by the team, but was reinstated before the season began."
I'm OK with the NFL never coming back to Los Angeles.
"In April '11, he was arrested following an off-campus incident and was subsequently charged with disturbing the peace and battery of a police officer. Was initially suspended by the team, but was reinstated before the season began."
I'm OK with the NFL never coming back to Los Angeles.
Ah, I see...when an NFL player hits another player in the locker room he's immediately dismissed. When he hits his wife or girlfriend it's another matter.
90
Yes, actually it IS another matter. What does she have to do with the team scoring touchdowns? Priorities!!
7
Hammond: If you hit your wife or girlfriend, that's a criminal or civil matter for the courts to resolve. When you maliciously sideline your team's starting quarterback for six to ten weeks, you should expect to lose your job at a minimum. I hope the Jets will also sue this idiot to recover the financial damages to the organization. Oh, and if you were merely accused (or even convicted) of hitting your wife or girlfriend, would you expect to be fired by your employer? Didn't think so.
Let's see if he gets suspended, then we can compare the punishments for having smoked a joked, punched a woman, punched a teammate and deflated footballs.
Actually, the saddest aspect of this unfortunate crime is the sheer volume of snarky commentary. But by all means, sit behind your laptops and announce your lack of original thinking to the world.
Dirtbags who behave like that linebacker deserve no less. Pile on the snark!
6
Glad to see your contribution!
1
Really? Snarky commentary is worse than the man having his jaw broken? I am going to guess that you would feel differently if it were your jaw.
7
Childish acts, they say, like 6th graders. At least we are all consistent everyone taking pressure off the football. We're all in the same playpen together with Trump and Meagan Kelley and Joe Wilson shouting "liar" at the president and people lining up around federal grazing lands or screaming at children on buses they say entered the country illegally or Punch and Judy shows with Netanyahu, you name it. It's the Romper Room Nation.
50
I do not know why I spend a princely sum each year on season's tickets, parking and the PSL when players, for whom I root, engage in antics more appropriate for a reform school.
If the Jets do not throw this back up LB off the team he should be booed off the field.
If the Jets do not throw this back up LB off the team he should be booed off the field.
1
Not to be ageist, but "reform school" left the vocabulary a long time ago.
Maybe the Patriot's will pick Enemkpali up...
8
Or Rex Ryan...
1
Or the Red Sox... they can fit him in somewhere.
Most of these comments are as despicable as the locker room brawl.
Stuff happens. This wasn't a spat between people sitting in cubicles across from each other.
What a hopelessly malignant thing the NFL is, owner of a game played by thugs for howling mobs leaving behind rivers of blood, broken bones. lifelong pain and paralysis, and deep psychosis in mashed brains having the consistency of applesauce.
Six months a year of foot ball is six months too much of football.
Six months a year of foot ball is six months too much of football.
24
Well said. I might add, if you are so "into" professional sports, especially football, you need to get a life. This IS NOT Ancient Rome.
4
But clearly 6 months of reading mmenting about football is not too much?
Dick, you have no idea what you are talking about. Sport is about much more than what happens between the lines to the society in which it exists. And always has been. It's civilized behavior (though I agree that the NFL has serious problems). Most of Rome's games were not to the death.
One more incident that increases the speed of the entire league circling the drain. Right before reading this, I had just gotten off the phone with DirecTV to cancel my Sunday Ticket package because, as a Charger fan, I will not give the league or the Spanos family one more penny of my money. The rep said that he's been getting many, many calls from disgusted fans from coast to coast doing the exact same thing.
The NFL is in trouble, but you wouldn't know it to listen to them.
The NFL is in trouble, but you wouldn't know it to listen to them.
21
That's the only way to send a message. Hit them in the wallet. Dodger fans did it two years ago. It CAN be done. Only way that will wake up. In the wallet.
If the Jets didn't exist, someone would have to invent them.
Most entertainment team in any sport, and that's saying something.
(laughing tears emoji)
Most entertainment team in any sport, and that's saying something.
(laughing tears emoji)
2
In light of the league's long-term cover-up of the traumatic brain injury issue including the entirely unacceptable lawsuit settlement, and the pathetic response to domestic violence issues, I gave up on the NFL last year. This incident, along with the legal issues from other players on other teams, further convinces me that this league, and these players, are not worth any time, attention or emotional investment. I can find better things to do than spending time watching games on TV and silently enabling the players and league management.
11
Now Jets fans aren't sure if they should be happy or sad.
2
We always feel that way. :-)
The New York Jets are one of a kind. If sports is basically entertainment, they have proven again how entertaining they are.
4
Indeed, they're sort of the Donald Trump of the NFL.
Didn't the coaches tell Mr. Enemy pail that the bounty was for taking out the opposing quarterback?
PS Aldon Smith is probably available.
PS Aldon Smith is probably available.
4
We now have a better chance to win. Go Fitzpatrick.
With some luck this will mirror the Drew Bledsoe Tom Brady
substitution.
With some luck this will mirror the Drew Bledsoe Tom Brady
substitution.
3
Well good luck on that...but I thought you guys hated Tom Brady.
These men are earning what most of them will rely upon for the rest of their lives after they stop playing, and they will stop before the middle of their lives. In addition, everyone of them is at risk for long term problems from head traumas. For any of them to hit each other off the field short of self defense is crazy.
Protect the quarterback - especially from YOUR OWN defense.
11
The Jets drafted this knowing about his convictions. When will these executives learn ? How long until Jameis Winston's first arrest ?
7
NYTimes - any reason we would need to know how to pronounce this clown's name?
9
Only for this, the final story about him.
1
I have been a Jets fan since the 1960s and went to the game when I was 12 years old that sent them to the Super Bowl. The team had that one good year and never had a long-time great quarterback like a Manning or Brady or Elway or Montana. Never. Geno Smith is not a leader - can you imagine any of the great QBs getting in a scrap like this BEFORE the season even begins? Not even under game pressure and in "the heat of battle"? The continued immaturity of the team is a reflection of its management and has always been that way. I felt our best hope was with Pete Carroll but he was fired so quickly. It's amazing that we are once again disappointed so incredibly early this time. It's unfathomable. I will always watch the team. I'm a fan. And we, the fans, deserve better than this. And we don't seem to be considered by the people too busy selling jerseys and tickets and high-priced concessions.
4
Change his name to: See No Smith
1
A linebacker punching a quarterback -- now there's a profile in courage.
7
Sadly, the New York Jets team just improved by subtraction - and we're not talking about the linebacker.
3
How sweet it is!
2
What?
Boys will be boys, and man-sized mental midgets will be man-sized mental midgets.
Who cares if one football player hit another football player?
Who cares if one football player hit another football player?
4
Frank Gifford would be appalled and totally ashamed of the thugs playing the game he loved.
16
And so, another Jets season is underway.
7
...and done
Pro football is populated by total trash, and that is what's enjoyable about watching the carnage on Sundays.
1
Honestly, if the Jets didn't exist, a novelist would have to create therm just to entertain us all....
4
Wait, is this the Jets' new smashmouth offense?
24
Hmm... somebody once told them the world would try to own them, they're not the sharpest tool in the shed....
(Smashmouth's song, get it?)
(Smashmouth's song, get it?)
And we were worrying about the trivial DeFlategate side show......
1
Roger Goodell will be fining the Patriots any day for this.
74
I hope IE's replacement has maturity and common sense to go with his football talent.
He should be in jail for assault.
9
Professional playing fields are virtually exempt from the law.
It was a locker room.
Yes, indeed. Why hasn't he been charged with assault?
2
Has a police report been filed? It will help Smith in his civil suit against IK. Loss of income, damage to long term career. Intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Oh wait, this is football. Just boys being boys.
IK is a Jerrah Jones kind of guy. It'd be a homecoming.
Can't help but agree losing Vince Young, oh uh, Gino Smith is a step forward for the Jets. Insurance policies will cover the lost income for the team.
Win-Win. (maybe the only back to back this season)
Oh wait, this is football. Just boys being boys.
IK is a Jerrah Jones kind of guy. It'd be a homecoming.
Can't help but agree losing Vince Young, oh uh, Gino Smith is a step forward for the Jets. Insurance policies will cover the lost income for the team.
Win-Win. (maybe the only back to back this season)
3
In what is considered the greatest sports movie of all time, Pride of the Yankees, the team is entering the locker room after a tough loss. The frustrated pitcher says "I can't pitch and play first base, too," a reference to Lou Gehrig's declining field performance.
Another player belts him in the jaw and he falls over.
Have you ever seen a baseball fight? It's like a mosh pit with even the bull pens emptying out.
Another player belts him in the jaw and he falls over.
Have you ever seen a baseball fight? It's like a mosh pit with even the bull pens emptying out.
1
I agree with everything that's been said.
How soon before Ikemefuna Enemkpali is playing for Rex Ryan?
5
Sources report Smith also threw punches during the altercation, but all missed long by ten yards or were out of bounds
96
Now that made me laugh!
1
That's a good line.
1
As I contemplate letting my kids play youth football, I balance the risks of head injury with the benefits of what this great sport teaches. It teaches teamwork, sacrifice, organization, healthy sportsmanship, and it's a lot of fun. Each time I see this kind of behavior it chips away at the very reason I'm willing to let my kids on the field. Witness not just this event, but the brawls with the Texans, Dolphins, and Jaguars recently. If I can't use football to teach my kids values all that is left is risk of head injury, and my calculation as a father changes completely.
4
There are many sports that will teach your kids teamwork, sacrifice, organization, healthy sportsmanship, and be a lot of fun. Most of them won't also teach your kids to be violent, to abuse women, and how to deal with the aftereffects of multiple concussions, damaged joints, and painkiller addiction.
Hi Eric- years ago, when my son was interested in playing youth football I called in to a radio show with a Bills player who is now in the Hall of Fame and I asked him and he said he'd NEVER let his son play football before the age of 16.
Just something to think about.
Just something to think about.
What will you d when a (male) high school teacher, military drill instructor or future boss wants a piece of them? Let them live and learn.
Why exactly is it so intolerable that a professional gladiator would punch someone? What am I missing here? If we really didn't like violence and childish behavior there would be no NFL. Enough with the 'I'm shocked - shocked!' routine.
14
The National Felony League never disappoints.
107
Another player going 124 miles per hour with a kid in the car, marijuana and a gun?
What is the matter with these guys? Who would do such a thing?
Yikes!
What is the matter with these guys? Who would do such a thing?
Yikes!
11
143 mph.
3
Thank you, Michael F. I couldn't remember and was in a hurry so I took a guess. Glad you corrected me. And 143 is much worse. So sad that somebody would throw away their life like this. Thank goodness he did not kill the child.
1
Immediately thought about Clint Longley's sucker punching Roger Staubach in the Cowboys' training camp in 1976. Clint didn't hang around the Cowboys long after that incident either...
2
One would have assumed that Ikemefuna Enemkpali would have been given a complete screening including team interaction/violence off the playing field, etc....
The Jets should also be asking who recruited Enemkpali?
The Jets should also be asking who recruited Enemkpali?
3
What kind of circus has the NFL become? Too many hard hits? Steroids?
6
Anyone seeing a linebacker dancing and pump-fisting around a decked quarterback has to wonder how much of a "sport" NFL football really is. It's ritualized and tedious violence, play after play, for those of us who aren't interested. This story is really sickening.
18
For someone who claims to be uninterested, you've given it A LOT of thought.
Geno has a big mouth anyway. Maybe this will shut him up for awhile.
3
wired shut.
I don't know if this has ever happened in sports franchises, at least in recent memory, where a teammate's punch to the face of another teammate results in missing something like half a season. Pretty outrageous.
But the calls for criminal prosecution in these comments are tiresome. A civil lawsuit, if Smith or the Jets want to bring one, may be appropriate, however.
But the calls for criminal prosecution in these comments are tiresome. A civil lawsuit, if Smith or the Jets want to bring one, may be appropriate, however.
2
Tiresome or not, striking someone without physical provocation is assault, a misdemeanor at the least, in this country. It's a good law too and it makes sense.
Tiresome? Really?
And why is that?
Seems like a pretty ignorant and dismissive remark.
Non-consensual physical assault of any person by another individual SHOULD result in criminal prosecution. Criminal prosecution is designed to be both a punishment AND a deterrent.
Of course, stupid people ignore the potentially negative consequences of their actions (i.e., they don't think before they act), but WITHOUT criminal prosecution, you're encouraging a free ticket to behavior such as this.
NOTE: by "stupid people" I mean ANY person who acts without considering the consequences of his or her actions. QED
And why is that?
Seems like a pretty ignorant and dismissive remark.
Non-consensual physical assault of any person by another individual SHOULD result in criminal prosecution. Criminal prosecution is designed to be both a punishment AND a deterrent.
Of course, stupid people ignore the potentially negative consequences of their actions (i.e., they don't think before they act), but WITHOUT criminal prosecution, you're encouraging a free ticket to behavior such as this.
NOTE: by "stupid people" I mean ANY person who acts without considering the consequences of his or her actions. QED
Jets just got better.
6
When I was a kid, the guys who played football were meat-headed thugs. It's clear that nothing has changed there, and nor has the mysterious reverence in which these otherwise barely-employable dolts are held.
69
The head of one of Johns Hopkins cancer centers was an all American football player from Old Miss. Lots of exceptions especially at the smaller schools. Easy question who was the All American who became a distinguished Supreme Court Justice.
J-O-K-E .....JOKE, JOKE, JOKE!!
2
Bet Jerry Jones is burning up his Rolodex...
1
Too many violent act committed by the players. Almost every NFL player participated in college athletics, and it is time that anger management and other instructions are provided to them in college and in the NFL.
6
Yes, "provided to them" and you can pay. Fyi "anger management" is just some babysitting and yak for psychologists to bill $120 an hour.
2
As a Jets fan, I feel really bad for Geno Smith right now. After two difficult years, in which he was boo'd by fans and constantly questioned by the media for inconsistent play (sometimes great, mostly bad, occasionally horrendous), he really seemed to have found his stride this year and was on pace to have his strongest supporting cast yet. Now this happens and he'll be out until early October, best-case scenario. Hopefully this is just a blip in the radar and won't have a lasting impact on his career.
Also kudos to new GM Mike Maccagnan; signing Fitzpatrick looks like a stroke of genius right now.
Also kudos to new GM Mike Maccagnan; signing Fitzpatrick looks like a stroke of genius right now.
4
The real issue here which the media likely will miss is Todd Bowles. A question re his candidacy for Head Coaching jobs was his soft leadership style. Often "players coaches" fail because they are unable to instill lasting discipline. This team is made up of many diverse personalities and keeping them focused particularly through adversity will be difficult. A soft leadership style doesn't seem to be the correct formula for this team. we shall see.
1
Bowles has been quoted at least 3 times this camp as stating there will be no tolerance of fighting. Rex loved a good fight - even within his squad. Last year several players were ejected from games for fighting or penalized for unsportsmanship.
Bowles swore to change this.
Bowles swore to change this.
If Enemkpali had sucker punched someone on the street or in a bar, he would be sitting in jail looking at a felony conviction. Because he's in a locker room he gets to walk?
82
He gets to walk, just not fully upright, and probably not into another NFL locker room.
How does this work from a liability standpoint? It's a workplace injury, I guess the Jets' medical insurance pays Smith's bills. Do they also have insurance to pay his salary while he's hurt? But it was an assault, so does the insurance company go after Enemkpali to recover what it spends on medical and other expenses?
4
This ridiculous, unjust, and misguided damage to the Jets team brings to mind a great and noble action: ALL NFL teams (except the various sore losers with an ax to grind) should ALL start their 2cd string quarterbacks, as a message to the jerk Roger Goodell re his abuse of Brady of the Pats. That would really be talking truth to power!
1
'LOSERS' can't duck . . . hang that one from your banner
1
Best thing to happen to the Geno Smith legend. Yet another excuse for failure to launch!!
1
The Jets are now officially the Bengals circa 1991-2004. Maybe they should see if John Kitna or Akili Smith are willing to come out of retirement.
1
This happened to the Jets once before. In 1979, Matt Robinson, who might have been the starter, was injured in the preseason arm wrestling.
1
And the bigger tragedy is that Enemkpali, another IQ-challenged steroid case, is still out there and will likely again resort to violence when he doesn't get his way. It's a big problem and football - pro, college and high school - better wake up before this gets completely out of hand.
23
what do you mean "before"?
You mean it's not out of hand /
Does violence get a pass - or just a passer?
If Jets QBs could be as fast on their release.
Does college (and NFL) football affiliation mean one gets a "get out of jail free" card instead of a diploma?
ETC.
If Jets QBs could be as fast on their release.
Does college (and NFL) football affiliation mean one gets a "get out of jail free" card instead of a diploma?
ETC.
1
If a regular citizen did this to another person they'd do jail time for assault. Ridiculous. I bet we won't hear anything else about it from the NFL.
16
On the bright side side the sales of Enemkpali jerseys have just gone up. He may end up being the Mo Lewis of the Jets when Fitzy tales em to the playoffs.
I suspect the Jet's wide receivers encouraged Enemkpali to do it.
7
Just a thought here, but perhaps the Jets should start vetting players before hiring them. Check for criminal records, reports of domestic violence, propensity to drive around with guns and children, that sort of thing.
Also they might give some consideration to changing their name to the Jest, which could be more suitable these days.
Also they might give some consideration to changing their name to the Jest, which could be more suitable these days.
21
Great idea, but not in the playbook. The ideal NFL players is Enemkpali ten minutes before he punches Smith, or Aaron Hernandez two weeks before he starts killing people. These are guys they want, not want to avoid.
3
If the NFL took criminal background checks seriously, every team would immediately lose at least half its roster....
5
I'll go you one better, how about ALL NFL teams vet their players?
6
Let us hope they charge that dirtbag with assault. You don't get to just punch your co-worker in the face, break his jaw, put him on disability for a couple of months and walk away scott-free. HE NEEDS TO GO TO JAIL. Violence in the NFL that is not on the field cannot be tolerated in civilized society.
32
One more reason to pass on today's NFL. Wasn't like that when it was a real sport. It's more of a behind the door event.
8
I think it was always like this, just hushed up more.
Huhhh?
Is there any reason that the cops don't appear to have been called?
Does this not sound like good old fashioned assault and battery? Or, if it happens in a locker room, it just doesn't count?
There wouldn't be so many hoodlums in football - starting at the high school level - if the same laws and rules that applied to everyone else applied to them.
Is there any reason that the cops don't appear to have been called?
Does this not sound like good old fashioned assault and battery? Or, if it happens in a locker room, it just doesn't count?
There wouldn't be so many hoodlums in football - starting at the high school level - if the same laws and rules that applied to everyone else applied to them.
129
Knowing Geno, he probably threw the first punch but it was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.
183
How do you know Geno?
Dude, that's cruel
Dude, that's cruel
1
Might be cruel but you have to admit it's damned funny.
2
The Jets just sacked themselves.
5
Violence is part and parcel of football. I am not surprised by this story, nor by other stories of football players' arrests for assault, domestic violence, etc.
7
Roid rage.
20
Overpaid, undereducated hulks of mindless muscle who have learned nothing in life. Had this not occurred in a locker room, the police would have arrested him. Why were the police not called? This is a FELONY assault.
155
Geno should sue the guy.
15
I have been a Jets fan since 1967.
Since the Super Bowl I have suffered through many a frustrating season, from the Mud Bowl AFC Championship game in 1983 through the 'fake spike' of Dan Marino and the various misadventures of Mark Sanchez.
I won't even get into the coaching changes I have witnessed.
This incident sinks the franchise to a new low.
Since the Super Bowl I have suffered through many a frustrating season, from the Mud Bowl AFC Championship game in 1983 through the 'fake spike' of Dan Marino and the various misadventures of Mark Sanchez.
I won't even get into the coaching changes I have witnessed.
This incident sinks the franchise to a new low.
16
You forgot Matt Robinson (QB) getting injured arm wrestling in the 1979 preseason and then lying to the coaching staff about it.
J.ust E.nd T.he S.eason and it has'nt even started yet..
Best of luck to Todd Bowles. Already off to a strong start.
3
Its sickening how easily professional athletes get away with violent, unlawful behavior. Clearly this ignorance should be rewarded with overvalued paychecks.
35
It was rewarded with the aggressor being fired. So much for the overvalued paycheck.
Did you even read this article? It states clear as day that the offending player was cut immediately. I'd hardly call that "getting away" with anything.
Same Ol' Jets..
10
Ikemefuna Enemkpali just committed career suicide. That's immature behavior even for the NFL.
86
Nope, par for the course in the NFL, usually these guys beat or murder their wives/girlfriends. This time he picked on someone his own size and paid the price for a change. Where is the player's union calling for a review? OK to murder/punch your girlfriend - stay on the team pay a fine done, but punch a fellow player and you are dismissed from the team. Imagine that?
51
Better to call it career murder-suicide - it could derail Smith's career too. I'd suggest suing IK for all he's worth.
He could change his name.
Hello? Police? You've got an actual criminal act here. How about an arrest?
165
Will the New England Patriots pick up IK?
24
I wouldn't put it past Belichick
1
Does this count as a sack?
30
No, just a smack.
2
You made my day, sir!
What I think the author meant was:
If progress is made in 2015, they will need help from a different backup quarterback than Geno Smith...
If progress is made in 2015, they will need help from a different backup quarterback than Geno Smith...
3
Say what you want about my (Super Bowl champion) New England Patriots, they don't have the silly issues that personify the J-E-T-S Jets. So this is rookie coach Todd Bowles' welcome? Somewhere, Rex Ryan is giggling.
14
No the problem the Pats have is that they cheat. Nothing to get upset about.
13
No. We just had Aaron Hernandez.
6
Super Bowl that will forever have an asterisk next to it.
Anyone can win with a stacked deck
Anyone can win with a stacked deck
7
Suspended? You've got to be kidding. He should be arrested and charged with assault.
The fact that he was merely released and not arrested shows that violence is an inherent part of this "game."
Of course violence is not a game and he should be arrested.
The fact that he was merely released and not arrested shows that violence is an inherent part of this "game."
Of course violence is not a game and he should be arrested.
321
Oh, but violence is a game, but it has moved into the locker room of the NFL gladiators. The game reminds me of the coliseums of ancient Rome.
Ah, violence is what the game of football is all about, it's the core of the beauty of the game. I agree he should face assault charges, not that you get it right.
Exactly CK, that's why football, at least in its current form, should be prohibited.
1
Geno should press charges.
56
The sucker punch was absolutely wrong, my impression of what caused the fury, was Geno's indifference to cancelling his appearance at a fundraiser (obviously an important celeb attendee) at the "last minute". That not only caused embarrassment and disappointment, it cost money that was paid to smooth the way for Smith's attendance in the first place. Handled badly - no question, but what kind of person is Geno Smith? Perhaps now the Jets actually have a chance to earn some respect on the field with talented players.
It's called criminal battery, assault and battery or aggravated assault, and it's often a felony. Is this being prosecuted as it should be? This is NOT a part of the game.
187
Actually, it's called cold-cocked or sucker punch. There are some things you don't learn in dance class.
This guy had a literal million dollar opportunity in his hands and he just flushed it down the toilet because he resolves conflict by hitting people. Why am I not surprised. I'm a huge fan but the NFL looks dumber and dumber every single year. I'm entertained, yes, but I'm also increasingly embarrassed.
268
This is so much the Jets!
4
Matty Flynn is available.
3
You don't punch a teammate in the head. He could prematurely get CTE from that.
20
You're right: it could be argued I.K. was just hurrying the process along.
It's true, he's not supposed to get serious brain damage from football for another five to eight years at least.
Not sure the fans are going to be real upset about this.
4
J E T S, Jets, Jets, Jets!!!
3
Great team. Woody doing a great job. Going all the way.
2
hahahahahahahahahaha, being a Jets fan is a punishment of biblical proportions.
20
That's funny. Glad I am not a Jets fan. Butt fumble and now the 'jaw of glass.'
1
The old players were tough. Johnny Unitas wouldn't have let a broken jaw keep him from the game.
14
Joe Namath had his jaw broken against the Raiders in 1967. He played the game out. Of course, he said he had broken it on a tough piece of steak.
1
Muhammad Ali beat George Forman after breaking his jaw on Forman's fist.
Smith just has a broken jaw.
As soon as he realizes the millions of dollars he's forfeited, Enemkpali will have a broken heart....
As soon as he realizes the millions of dollars he's forfeited, Enemkpali will have a broken heart....
8
Typical Jets. Brady might be out for the first 4 weeks so you take advantage of that opportunity by breaking your own quarterback's jaw.
More seriously, we've got to be approaching a tipping point on stories like this. It seems these days the NFL is in the news more for off-field controversies -- assaults, prosecutions, appeals and the like -- than for what actually happens in the games. Retired players are mentioned only in stories about CTE and other adverse effects of playing. The commissioner only comes up when he's being excoriated for another botched punishment. Owners are only mentioned when they demand another taxpayer giveaway.
It's not so clear anymore why my life is better with the NFL in it.
More seriously, we've got to be approaching a tipping point on stories like this. It seems these days the NFL is in the news more for off-field controversies -- assaults, prosecutions, appeals and the like -- than for what actually happens in the games. Retired players are mentioned only in stories about CTE and other adverse effects of playing. The commissioner only comes up when he's being excoriated for another botched punishment. Owners are only mentioned when they demand another taxpayer giveaway.
It's not so clear anymore why my life is better with the NFL in it.
157
Shocking and with best wishes to Geno for a speedy and complete recovery...still I wonder how will the Jets ever replace a player of Geno Smith's caliper?
3
caliber, sorry
It's The Jets. Why is anyone surprised?
4
Classy move releasing Enemkpali
2
Just-End-The-Season J-E-T-S, J-E-T-S, J-E-T-S
38
Wow. Just WOW! And I thought the silliness was going to decrease after Rex Ryan's departure. Must be something in the North Jersey water. Thanks for the laughs, J-E-T-S!
5
How much were they paying this thug, before he upended their season? I bet over a million or two. Fast twitch fiber, little impulse control, and probably learning disabilities. Looks like he can bench 350-400 though.
11
He's a strong lad. He can use that strength digging ditches for a living instead of earning millions of dollars playing football. What an IDIOT.
6
Typical Jets.
5
Yet another reason why baseball is so great.
27
Had he punched his girl friend in the face and knocked her out, he would have been suspended for one, maybe two games and that would have been it.
298
Did you not read? They don't tolerate such behavior in relation to a *teammate*. No sir.
4
No he would have been suspended from the NFL like Ray Rice
His carer is most likely finished
There's always next year! Heh.
2
Geniuses. Plenty of emotion, but no brains.
8
It doesn't get any better than this.
And you thought the Rex Ryan Jets were out of control ?
J-E-T-S !!!
And you thought the Rex Ryan Jets were out of control ?
J-E-T-S !!!
4
Todd Bowles just showed up Roger Goodell by releasing Enemkpali immediately.
67
If Gino Smith had thrown the punch at Enemkpali, do you really think he'd release his starting QB ?
8
Coach Bowles is demonstrating how a true coach and leader behaves. Sack the rubbish and get on with the show.
2
RP Smith - Good point.
3
Sigh...
Anyone got Tebow's cell number?
Anyone got Tebow's cell number?
42
Chip Kelly has dibs. I think.
1
As an Eagles fan, I say, "Take my Tebow, please."
2
Ahhhhh. The curse of Rex Ryan. Karma comes home to roost.
3
Wanton violence in the NFL? Shocking.
52
Punishment or breaking a persons jaw is "release" from your job? Why isn't he under arrest?
364
The license given to athletes in pro and college sports and elsewhere is a double standard that has long outlived its usefulness. Any other location...work or walking down the street, grocery store or house of worship, the police would've been called and the assailant would have been hauled off and booked for his criminal behavior. Why not the football locker room, too?
18
Grounds, I should think, for a seven figure law suit!
1
Because context and situations are different. if you had a brother (maybe you do) and you two got into a fight and he broke your jaw would you call the police and have him arrested? Of course not.
1
I think most sixth grader would acted better.
80
Probably few if they suffered head trauma and used PEDS.
Bon voyage and good riddance Mr. Smith.