Jets lose star Smith to ‘sucker punch’ broken jaw

New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith will miss the start of the new NFL season after his jaw was broken in a locker room fight with one of his team-mates.

Linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali – who is known as IK – delivered the punch to Smith’s jaw, Jets head coach Todd Bowles said.

Neither Bowles nor a small handful of players made available to the media would go into detail about the incident, or if they knew what sparked it. “It’s something very childish that sixth graders could have talked about and it had no reason to happen”.

The altercation took place on Tuesday and will leave the New York Jets starting quarterback, Geno Smith out of the game for weeks.

Enemkpali confronted Smith about his absence Tuesday morning (Aug. 11) and demanded he refund the money used to purchase the plane ticket.

Enemkpali played defensive end at Louisiana Tech and was drafted in the sixth round in 2014 to play outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense.

Enemkpali apologized after being released, saying he and Smith “let our frustration get the best of us”.

Smith posted a picture of himself on Instagram after the altercation. Enemkpali asked Geno Smith to attend the charity event football camp and Smith agreed. “Going through that showed me what I could lose and what I should be grateful for and that’s football and how it’s changing me and my family’s life”.

“It’s something very childish”, Bowles said before Tuesday’s practice. I was never my intention to harm anyone. “Whatever happened up at Jets Camp, I really can’t speak on”.

On the defensive side of the ball, Enemkpali was far from a sure thing to make the roster, although he did appear in six games last season.

ESPN first reported that the NFL is looking into the dispute.

Most Jets fans don’t want Smith as their quarterback to begin with.

But now, the Jets are trying to move forward without Smith, who was having a good camp, and turn to veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick as they prepare for their preseason opener at Detroit on Thursday.