Javon Wims Punching Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Was a Long Time Coming

Javon Wims, a fringe wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, put his future with the team in real jeopardy yesterday afternoon by punching New Orleans Saints' Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. One need not be a Sean Maguire-type to understand that he must have been quite irate to do such a thing. Fox's top booth of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were busy calling a tight game with playoff implications so they didn't have the requisite time to delve into the entire back story and analysis of the encounter.

That's what Twitter is for. Here's Evan Saacks with a comprehensive breakdown. Buckle up.

You know what? I'm just going to say it, controversial or otherwise. The NFL simply cannot allow players to go around trying to yank each other's mouthpieces. Not in normal times and certainly not in pandemic times. That's just a phenomenally bad precedent to set.

Wims will obviously be the recipient of a large fine. So too should Gardner-Johhson, for the saliva-stealing.

I don't know if I'm disappointed in Wims or impressed by his devotion to retribution. Yes, the actions were detrimental to his team's chances to win. On the other hand, though, a lesser man would have allowed the better angels of his nature to win out after 11 minutes of reflection. They say the best revenge is a life well-lived but that takes an incredible amount of effort and the other person has to care enough to notice.

Violence, while not the answer, is just a bit more palpable.

Right, wrong or otherwise, that's why it happened.