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New York Jets star wide receiver Garrett Wilson fired back at popular sports personality Stephen A. Smith after comments Smith made about his team.
The Jets’ organizational problems prompted Smith to say he would rather drink poison than play for the NFL team.
“I’d go back to college before I play for the Jets. They’re a football atrocity. They’re terrible,” Smith said during a talk on ESPN’s “First Take.”
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ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said Thursday that he doesn’t think there is a Democratic candidate who could beat a Vance/Rubio presidential ticket in 2028. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Wilson quickly jumped into the comments on the X post, calling Smith a “sellout.”
“Hell, you have to be a real sellout and above all a square to be on ESPN today. I used to love that show,” Wilson wrote.
JETTER MAKES NFL HISTORY WITH SEASON OF HIGHLY MISCONDUCT AND RECORD-BREAKING FAILURES
What got Smith talking was a conversation about Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore, who could become the No. 2 overall pick of the Jets if he decides to leave school after the College Football Playoff.
“I would eat to provoke myself to have food poisoning where I’m like garbage before I played for the Jets,” Smith said. “Anything I could do to be alive and be OK in the end, but to destroy their thoughts of ever having me on their list, I would do.”
Smith also took shots at Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, who kept his job despite a 3-14 season that resulted in poor NFL history, notably being the first team without an interception all season.
“I’m a black man who has consistently pushed for opportunities for black coaches over the years. I have,” Smith explained. “It’s gotten a lot better than it’s been in the past. And it hurts me to say this, okay? There’s no way in hell Aaron Glenn should still be the head coach of the New York Jets. They’re horrible and aloof, damn near nose-diving.”
Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets walks off the field after a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 29, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
And no, Smith wasn’t done there. He took aim at the organization as a whole.
“There are people who have passed away rooting for the Jets. They’re terrible. Terrible. And they’re the place to go if you want to sink, if you want to spread, if you just want to rot. They’re terrible.”
The Jets haven’t been to the playoffs in 15 years, the longest drought in professional sports.
But there’s no doubting the dysfunction that comes with the streak. Wilson, 24, knows that after being the team’s first-round pick out of Ohio State in 2022. He has shined with a select few teammates but has never seen a season above .500, let alone playoff football.
Stephen A. Smith and Garrett Wilson (Getty Images)
The Jets enter another offseason of uncertainty, particularly in the quarterback department. Will they bring in another young rookie in hopes that he turns out to be their long-awaited quarterback of the future? Or the Jets look to cut loose like they did last offseason when the addition of Justin Fields didn’t pan out.
