NFL Training Camp Fights Can Alter Careers

Teammates on professional sports squads have been getting into heated arguments with each other for decades. Sometimes, the disputes turn physical. Yet it is very rare for sharp words, shoving matches or outright fights to end with one of the participants injured enough to miss an extended period of playing time—the sort of altercation that can have far-reaching implications, both on and off the field.

Of course, that's exactly what happened Tuesday when then-New York Jets reserve linebacker I.K. Enemkpali broke Jets starting quarterback Geno Smith's jaw during a locker room scuffle that reportedly started because the quarterback owed Enemkpali $600 for an airline ticket.

Shortly after the fight, the Jets released Enemkpali, who signed 24 hours later with the Buffalo Bills, now coached by former Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Smith will miss approximately six to 10 weeks. New York media outlets have already brought up the possibility that Smith's time as the Jets starting quarterback may be over. One punch might have changed the entire course of his career.

Attorney James Brosnahan has seen this before. Brosnahan represented former Oakland Raider tight end Marcus Williams in a lawsuit against Bill Romanowski stemming from a training camp altercation between the two players in 2003 that ended Williams' career.

The incident began when Romanowski took exception to how Williams, an undrafted free agent who became a special teams player on the Raiders 2002 Super Bowl team, was blocking him during a run-play. The veteran linebacker violently grabbed at the tight end's facemask, eventually ripping it off. Romanowski then shattered Williams' left eye-socket with a punch, also causing other serious injuries.

"Marcus had brain damage and he was, not only taken to the hospital that night, he never played another game, he never went to another practice," Brosnahan said. "His whole livelihood was over."

Ryan Prince, a tight end who was with the Raiders during training camp that year and who testified in Williams' lawsuit against Romanowski, said he still strongly remembers hearing Williams' "face break" after Romanowski delivered that blow. "That was a career-ending facial fracture," Prince recalled.

Oakland waived Williams just two months after the August incident. He took Romanowski to court, seeking over $3 million in damages. In 2005, a jury awarded Williams $340,000—$40,000 in medical expenses and $300,000 for lost wages.

Romanowski, who was fined more than $100,000 during his NFL career for on-field scrapes with opponents, was not charged with a crime.

While Williams' story doesn't perfectly parallel Smith's, it does illustrate the NFL's cutthroat employment climate. If an injury keeps a player off the field for a significant amount of time, he's likely to be demoted or cut entirely, regardless of how he was hurt.

Already, Jets head coach Todd Bowles has mentioned the possibility that Smith may not get his starting job back if the team is winning with Ryan Fitzpatrick—or whomever—at quarterback. "If the other guy's playing well, and the boat's going right, and there are no waves, and everything's going, and we're 4, 5, 6, 7-0? Yeah, you're not coming back to start," Bowles told reporters.

Although Sports Illustrated's Michael McCann doubts Smith will press any charges against Enemkpali, things can get complicated when someone's career is on the line. New York Magazine points out that millions of dollars could be at stake depending on what happens when Smith returns from injury.

As Brosnahan said, Smith "has one of the most competitive jobs in the world, there is always someone right behind him ready to get in there." The same was true for Williams, whose injury was so severe he was never given another opportunity to play again.

It's not out of the question to think that Smith may never be a starting quarterback ever again as a result of the time he misses because of Enemkpali's punch. If Smith finds himself buried on the Jets' bench, or dumped from the league entirely, legal action may become more plausible.

Prince hopes that both the Williams and Smith incidents can serve as a lesson for future players: No matter how heated things get, don't slug your teammates. Not when a single punch can be as damaging as a freak, career-ending on-the-field injury.

"You see these things happening and hopefully people learn from them and do better," Prince said.