Bart Scott: Jets' Locker Room Incident Shows 'Everybody's Not In Geno's Corner'
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- When Bart Scott played in the NFL, he was known as one of the toughest, most fierce competitors in the league.
So he knows a thing or two about respect, competitiveness, fighting and ugly locker room incidents.
The former Jet and CBS NFL analyst joined WFAN co-hosts Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton in studio Wednesday morning to discuss Geno Smith, who had his jaw broken by Ikemefuna Enemkpali in the locker room on Tuesday morning.
Bart Scott
The two teammates -- now former teammates, as Enemkpali was released following the incident -- were reportedly arguing about money. Smith will be sidelined at least 6-10 weeks.
Scott told Boomer & Carton that the incident is an indictment of how Smith is perceived by his teammates in the locker room.
"This is what's alarming to me, and this is what says a lot about the locker room and the amount of respect and the level of respect that Geno gets," the former Pro Bowler said. "Usually you defuse that situation, and usually people will defuse it early.
"The fact that it was allowed to go on, and there was an argument, lets you know that everybody's not in Geno's corner ... Sometimes people want people to get into confrontations. But if it was somebody that people respected, they would have defused it immediately."
The Jets Are Better Off Sans Geno
With Smith out, Ryan Fitzpatrick will take over as the Jets' starting quarterback to begin the season. There's also a chance that general manager Mike Maccagnan will bring in another quarterback before New York's season opener against the Browns on Sept. 13.
"Who was in the locker room?" Scott said. "Who watched it happen? Who watched it escalate? ... The fact that they allowed it to escalate ... (Maybe they were like) 'Man, he needed to get smacked. He's talking all this stuff.' That's telling you the level of respect that a lot of players and teammates have (for Smith)."
