Geno Smith

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They say a good leader earns respect by motivating others to succeed. On the other hand, a poor leader breeds contempt because everyone disrespects him to his face, resulting in low morale on a team.

NFL Hall of Fame star Cris Carter thinks that’s why a teammate of NY Jets quarterback Geno Smith threw a sucker punch that broke his jaw.

Imagine a Cleveland Cavaliers teammate throwing a punch at LeBron James.

Linebacker Ikemefuna “I.K.” Enemkpali (inset) threw the punch that broke Smith’s jaw during a locker room altercation this morning. He was cut from the team.

“Now, I don’t know what happened, but for me it’s a lack of leadership on Geno Smith’s part, that he would put himself in harm’s way to get sucker punched,” said Carter on ESPN.

“You’re the president, like CEO of the team; we can’t have you fighting… If you look at the best quarterbacks in the league, they’re great leaders… but when guys don’t respect you, you see the likelihood for something like this happening.”

Smith’s jaw will require surgery. He will be out for 6-10 weeks.

UPDATE: Adam Schefter knows why Smith’s jaw was broken (via Deadspin.com):

At the heart of the dispute between former Jets LB IK Enemkpali and quarterback Geno Smith is $600 that Enemkpali believed Smith owed him, per league sources. Enemkpali purchased a plane ticket for Smith to attend his July 11 football camp at Pfugerville High School in Pfugerville, Texas. However, days before the camp, a person close to Smith was killed in a motorcycle accident in Miami and Smith did not attend Enemkpali’s camp, per sources. After Smith did not attend, Enemkpali demanded that the Jets’ quarterback refund him the $600 he allegedly used to purchase a plane ticket. Smith told Enemkpali he would reimburse him the money, but he did not. Enkempali confronted Smith today about the money and the confrontation ended in a punch and broken jaw.