Bart Scott: Geno Smith walked by ATM in players' lounge every day
It's been nearly a month since Geno Smith had his jaw broken by IK Enemkpali, but the story still won't die. Everyone has an opinion of the situation, with people taking both Enemkpali and Smith's sides.
Former New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott shared a tidbit this week that adds another wrinkle to the case for Smith being at fault. In Scott's mind, it would have been very easy for Smith to pay Enemkpali the $600 he owed him.
"I can understand how that situation can escalate, especially because there’s an ATM in the players’ lounge," Scott said at CBS' Media Day, via the New York Post. "Come on, bro, you’re walking by an ATM every day. It’s just bam, bam, get the money."
Granted, the normal maximum ATM withdrawal allowance per day is $300, but you get Scott's point. To him, it could have been as simple as that for the QB to pay back any money owed, and Smith would likely still be on the field. Instead, the situation escalated and landed Smith a broken jaw and Enemkpali a new job with the Buffalo Bills. According to Scott, if it was Mark Sanchez in the same situation, things would have been completely different.
"I’ve never heard anyone get into it with the quarterback,” Scott said. "In my opinion, if you put Mark Sanchez into that same situation and he couldn’t make it to the charity event or whatever happened, what a quarterback is supposed to do is to give you your $600 and donate $1,000 to your charity. That’s what a leader does. Maybe Geno is too young in the process to understand that and he has to mature more."
Although it sounds like Scott is taking Enemkpali's side, he still doesn't believe it was right to punch the team's quarterback.
"Maybe IK was under pressure because I’m sure he was excited that he could announce to his small town that he had the starting quarterback from an NFL team coming," Scott said. "You can understand his disappointment. With that being said, I don’t condone his actions."
Smith is expected to miss the first four regular-season games as Ryan Fitzpatrick will lead the team in his absence. Upon returning to the team, it remains to be seen if Smith will be given the reins once again.
(h/t New York Post)
