Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
NFLBy Reice Shipley on

The New York Jets have been under intense scrutiny lately, losing six of their last seven games.

And the scrutiny has only escalated since a regret-filled exchange of direct messages between star cornerback Sauce Gardner and an acquaintance was leaked to the public.

Earlier this week, a DM from Gardner was leaked by a sports betting personality on X, Mikey O’ver. O’ver claims that he was just sent the screenshot from someone else. The DM seemingly showed Gardner responding to someone who had lost $10,000 betting on the Jets.

“F*** yo 10K,” wrote Gardner in the message. “Do sumn about it instead of going live and chattin.”

The post from Mikey O’ver has garnered 655,000 views and counting.

This, however, is just the latest chapter in Gardner’s contentious social media activity.

On Monday, Rich Cimini, who covers the Jets for ESPN, took to social media to point out a costly missed tackle from Gardner in their loss to the Cardinals in Week 10.

This warranted a now-deleted reply from Gardner, who sarcastically scoffed at the idea that the tackle had much of an impact in the blowout loss.

“Yup I’m 100% sure me missing that tackle at the beginning of the 2nd quarter for a gain of 17 yards was the costliest miss and that is in fact what lost us the game.”

If you’re noticing a trend here, it’s that Gardner certainly appears unable to use social media without addressing his critics.

Of course, the Jets’ issues go way beyond Gardner’s social media tirades. The team is clearly in disarray, lacking leadership and accountability.

Gardner’s online antics aren’t helping matters.

When asked about his recent social media activity on Wednesday, Gardner took some accountability, acknowledging that he “knows better” than to let his emotions dictate his responses.

“I do want to address one of the situations,” said Gardner. “I was just DMing fans, answering stuff. The guy who posted that, he wasn’t a fan; I actually know him. What I had told him on Instagram, I didn’t mean in no malicious way — and he knew that….and everything that’s going on, he just wanted some attention. That’s on me for just DMing him that, to begin with, even though I know that I know, understanding that certain people don’t really care that they know me.

“What he did, I can’t even be mad at him because it’s really on me for trusting him and DMing him to begin with. That’s on me. Me being a leader of the team, of the defense, I can’t be on social media with my emotions, saying certain stuff that I know better. My coaches know that I know better. My teammates know that I know better. I’ve just got to be better.

“Obviously, things not going how we expected them to go, but what I can say is I’m gonna do everything in my power to change that. I’m gonna do everything in my power — me preparing, me being the best teammate I can be and me bringing the energy. Everything I can do to change this around.”

Gardner did add that he will be re-deleting social media, so perhaps that will be a long-term fix to his need to address his critics.

Regardless, the Jets and Gardner are now in a must-win territory at 3-7. A loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11 could effectively eliminate them from playoff contention in the AFC.

[SNY Jets on X]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley