Giants running back Brandon Jacobs and Jets rookie defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson were both ejected for throwing punches at each other on Monday night, and Wilkerson acknowledged today that getting kicked out of a game isn’t a smart move.
But Wilkerson also said that Jacobs started it, and that he isn’t the type to back down when someone starts something with him.
“I was just pass rushing and he came up to pass protect and I ran into him the first time, the ball was thrown and he approached me, threw a blow at me and that’s what it was,” Wilkerson said, in comments circulated by the Jets’ PR staff. “I retaliated. Was it a smart move? No. Do I regret it? No. It’s football and I am not going to let somebody try to take advantage of me.”
Still, even if he doesn’t have any regrets, Wilkerson said he knows he can’t afford to get kicked out of any more games and can’t afford to cost his team any 15-yard penalties, and so he’s going to keep his temper in check going forward.
“It was a rookie mistake,” Wilkerson said. “I let my anger get the best of me there, but that is something that I have to learn from and move forward.”
