Top 10 toxic teammates of the NFL

May 5, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Former Texas A&M and Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel appears before Judge Roberto Ca as at the Frank Crowley Courts Building. Manziel reported to court for the first time since a Dallas County grand jury indicted him last month on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Former girlfriend Colleen Crowley has accused him of kidnapping, hitting and threatening to kill her in January. Mandatory Credit: Smiley N. Pool/Pool Photo via USA TODAYSports /

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Dec 28, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Jets linebacker IK Enemkpali (51) takes a breather on the bench during the second half against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

3-4. IK Enemkpali & Geno Smith

Don’t break your teammate’s jaw in a locker room fight. It’s an unspoken rule of sportsmanship and leadership. Actually, the only reason it is unspoken, is because it should be obvious.

During the 2015 preseason, IK Enemkpali, who at that point had played one year with the New York Jets on the defensive side of the ball, punched Geno Smith in the jaw, sidelining him for months. At the time, head coach Todd Bowles said, “There was an altercation in the locker room. It had nothing to do with football. It was something very childish…. you can’t tolerate that. When you have a team and a bunch of side issues you can’t tolerate that.”

What sort of teammate punches the starting quarterback of his own team? A teammate who is pissed off that his team’s quarterback did not follow through on a promise; a teammate who is annoyed his team’s quarterback owes him money. Geno Smith was supposed to show up at Enemkpali’s football camp. Enemkpali bought him a $600 plane ticket to make the trip, and Smith no-showed, leaving Enemkpali holding the bag on the plane ticket and so annoyed he probably thought, “I’m so mad, I could punch Geno in the jaw.”

Enemkpali has a responsibility to avoid punching teammates. Part of Smith’s responsibility as quarterback is to provide mature leadership. It seems both failed miserably in those pursuits.

As a side note, Enemkpali ended up signed by the Buffalo Bills under Rex Ryan, the former New York Jets head coach.

Next: 2. Johnny Manziel

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