If the NFL needed any more information before deciding whether to place Bills defensive end (they changed his designation from linebacker) IK Enemkpali on paid leave, they don’t now. In a written statement provided verbally to reporters on Thursday, Enemkpali essentially admitted it.
Like offensive line coach Aaron Kromer a week ago, Enemkpali took no questions. Via WGRZ-TV, he said, “I apologize for what happened. . . . I should have walked away.”
So he acknowledged what we know he did. He punched Geno Smith and broke his jaw.
It was an act of workplace violence that cries out for the same sanctions under the Personal Conduct Policy that would apply if the act of violence occurred anywhere else. With each passing hour that the NFL doesn’t place him on paid leave, the league bolsters the notion that: (1) there really is no clear set of predictable rules that apply in these cases; (2) the NFL only moves quickly to get guys off the field when high-profile players get in trouble; and/or (3) the league applies a different standard when players commit violence against other players than when players commit violence against non-players.
