With most of the players back together, training camp is filled with hot weather, hot tempers and a lot of guys ready to fight. So far, four fights have occurred in training camp and I’m here to give you the low down on each of them.
One of the first reported fights occurred at the Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California. The fight occurred between WR Dez Bryant and CB Tyler Patmon. In the exclusive video now posted on the Cowboys official website, the fight felt like it was over before it had even started. A few punches were exchanged between Bryant and Patmon, resulting in literally nothing.
No one was hurt or injured, but Patmon and Bryant both commented on the fight to the media the same day. Patmon maturely responded with “Brothers fight and you know that happens sometimes…” and Bryant basically gave all of the logistics of the fight, chalking it to them talking smack back and forth. At the end of the training camp, the fight seemed to be long forgotten, especially by Bryant and Patmon. Bryant did make a comment in saying that the fight was resolved, “We shook hands; we hugged; we respect one another.” This video features both the fight and the comments by both parties afterward.
The second fight that occurred was on a much larger scale and involved two teams. When the Washington Redskins agreed to have a joint practice with the Houston Texans, they probably never imagined a full-on brawl would break out. On the last day of their joint practice in Virginia, ESPN was there, live casting which is where the video came from.
According to ESPN, the fight started after Texans Kevin Johnson went after Redskins fullback Jordan Campbell and then boy did it escalate! In front of 20,000 excited fans, multiple players from both sides fought before coaches and other staff rushed to the field to break it up. The teams were then separated to practice on different fields.
Both Redskins players and Texans players have made comments in regards to the fight. Unsurprisingly, both teams tried to justify the fight. Texans rookie WR Jaelen Strong justified it by saying, “Whatever I needed to do to step up and protect my teammates, protect the Houston Texans, that’s what I’m going to do” and Redskins TE Niles Paul made similar comments in reference to the Skins, “Everyone came and had each other’s back, even when the defense got into it. We all ran to each other’s side.” No matter the circumstances or who is to blame, the video shows you all you need to see.
Fight number three is the fight that occurred at the Carolina Panthers training camp which was similar to the Bryant/Patmon fight, but had consequences more like the Redskins/Texans fight. The fight occurred between Panthers QB Cam Newton and CB Josh Norman. HC Ron Rivera shed some light on the reasoning of the fight, saying “What happened was Cam got stiff-armed in the helmet, and that’s where that escalated. The big thing we have to understand is: ‘Hey, you’re going to get stiff-armed. You’ve just got to handle it.” Unlike Bryant and Patmon though, Newton continued to fight, verbally.
It has been reported that Newton called Norman a “pissant” and then followed up with 2 more comments, “Hit me like that again and you’ll know something.” immediately after the fight and then later in the day, “I bet you won’t do that again.” which only seemed to push Norman’s buttons more. Newton and Norman continued to verbally harass each other throughout practice and neither has talked to the media. The video can be seen on Youtube and even though it’s less than 30 seconds, it really shows how brutal teammates can be.
Last but certainly not least is the fight that has reported on just minutes ago. The fight occurred in the New York Jets locker room. Right now, there are not a lot of details, surrounding the fight but just that it occurred between QB Geno Smith and LB IK Enemkpali and that Enemkpali sucker punched Smith. Following the incident, Enemkpali has been released from the New York Jets and Smith will have to sit out for 6-10 weeks with a broken jaw.
Jets HC Todd Bowles has commented on the fight, saying “You can’t tolerate that. When you have a team and a bunch of side issues you can’t tolerate that. It’s something that happened in the locker room and we’re dealing with it internally and that’s what we’ll do.” Bowles also went onto to say that he would let both sides tell their story, rather than tell the story himself. Neither Smith or Enemkpali have made any comments.
