Geno Smith said he wasn’t trying to snub Mark Sanchez, he just didn’t understand the question.
That was Smith’s explanation Thursday for Wednesday’s weird “no comment,” when asked if he planned to attend Sanchez’s players-only Jets West camp before the start of training camp.
According to Mike Garafolo of USA Today, Smith said he had been trained to not comment when he didn’t understand a question, and he simply didn’t know what Jets West referred to.
Smith added that if Sanchez invited him, he’d go. Sanchez said yesterday that “everyone,” was invited, so that presumably includes his primary competition for the starting job.
NFL players are well-instructed in how to avoid controversy with the press. Some absorb the lessons better than others. But this one seems fairly easy to dodge, if only by employing the time-honored “I have a bug in my ear, what did you say?” defense.
If asked about Jets West, an appropriate rejoinder might be something like “I’m sorry, what’s that?,” at which point the friendly reporters would say: “Why, that’s where Sanchez invites everybody out to the coast, they get together, have a few laughs.”
Now, we’re left to see if he shows up, or whether his invitation gets lost in the mail.