With great power comes great responsibility.

Being the quarterback of the New York Jets shouldn’t be confused with being any type of world leader, but there are only 32 of these high profile jobs in the world and they are always under extreme scrutiny.

As you know, Jets’ quarterback Geno Smith will miss anywhere from 6-10 weeks with a dislocated jaw after being punched by teammate IK Enemkpali, who was subsequently released.

“We released IK and that’s pretty much the gist of it,” Jets head coach Todd Bowles explained. “I have meetings and if you want to know more after practice, I can tell you more, but he (Geno Smith) will be out six to ten weeks at least and IK is gone….It’s something we’re dealing with. The team knows it’s something we don’t tolerate, something we can’t stand. You don’t walk up to another man and punch him in the face.”

Certainly Geno Smith is a victim of this type of “assault,” but multiple reports said that Smith put his finger in Enemkpali’s face, exacerbating the situation to a certain extent.

Bowles has backed up his quarterback.

“It’s something very childish, something that sixth graders could have talked about,” the Jets first-year head coach said. “It had no reason happening and if they want to tell you what happened, they can tell you what happened, but I told them I wouldn’t say anything about it, so I’ll keep it there.”

In society, it’s never okay to put your hands on another person without the obvious exceptions of those people causing danger to you or your family.

Professional sports is not like regular society.  Not to say that those rules don’t apply, but everything is a bit different.

Fights happen in training camp.  They happen all the time, usually on the field.  This is a different circumstance and it involves a quarterback.

IK Enemkpali did more than break Geno Smith’s jaw on Tuesday morning.  He left Smith with a permanent scar on his legacy.

“It’s a lack of leadership on Geno Smith’s part that he would put himself in harms way to get sucker punched,” NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter said on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Carter’s comments sound insane, but when you think about it a bit further it makes a little more sense.

Do you see Tom Brady getting into fist fights?  What about Aaron Rodgers?  What about any other NFL quarterback?

It’s something that simply does not happen.

It’s okay for wide receiver Steve Smith to punch a teammate, but in sports just like in life, there are different rules for different people.

Not only did Enemkpali’s “sucker punch” break Geno Smith’s jaw and effectively finish IK’s career, but it also left a major mark on Smith.  Now Geno will be scrutinized even more thoroughly than before.  Anytime he slumps his shoulders, has a less than positive look on his face, anytime anything goes wrong it will be a reflection on his leadership, a la Jay Cutler.

Geno Smith is one of the most inconsistent starting quarterbacks in the NFL and the number of backers for him are seemingly diminishing with each game he’s played.  If and ultimately when things don’t work out for him with the Jets, the list of suitors for his talents will be few and far between.