“It’s Okay to Be Honest”: Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe React to Sauce Gardner’s Take on the Jets’ ‘Embarrassing’ Game

Sauce Gardner had plenty to say following the New York Jets’ loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. He described the loss as ‘frustrating’ and mentioned that some people on the team might be “checked out.” Naturally, these comments caught the attention of Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson.

When asked whether the Jets’ loss was embarrassing or not, Gardner stated, “Embarrassing? I don’t even know if that’s the word. You’re telling me now it’s 40-0? If you ask me that means it’s the end of the season, obviously, we’re not going to the playoffs, some people might be checked out.”

It was a candid response from one of the best players on the team. And one that has likely already been echoed behind closed doors in the Jets locker room. Still, it is frowned upon to call out your teammates, though Ocho said he liked the reaction from the star cornerback.

“It’s okay to be honest,” Ocho said on Nightcap. “It’s okay to voice your frustration and say how you feel without being PC (politically correct). It shows people that you care.”

The response is certainly okay from Sauce. It might earn him a private conversation with the head coach and owner about media training, but it needed to be said. The Jets have been a disaster this year. Sometimes, the leader of a team needs to hold others accountable. And Sauce did it the correct way.

He didn’t single anybody out. It would’ve been easy and created a media flurry had he thrown QB Aaron Rodgers under the bus, or even Garrett Wilson. Both have looked ‘checked out’ in recent weeks, which has to be frustrating for Sauce to see as a defensive player.

These are likely the reasons why Shannon commended Sauce for the way he went about the situation.

“He ain’t throw nobody under the bus, he ain’t call no names,” Sharpe pointed out. He simply said the team as a whole was not playing up to standard. A team that, as Shannon mentions, only lost to the Bills by three the first time they met.

“I think it was a close game the first time they played, I think they lost 23-20,” Shannon continued. “You mean to tell us we come back and this team has got us down 40-0? Oh hell no!”

That’s not all from Sauce, though. On Saturday, the star corner took to Instagram to give props to Tee Higgins following his impressive three-touchdown performance against the Broncos. Higgins, in the last year of his contract, is set to be a free agent after the season. Gardner thus commented on Higgins’ post, “PAY THE MAN.”

Curious, one Jets fan then commented under Gardner, asking him to tell Higgins to come to the Jets. Sauce responded with, “I will NOT be telling him that.”

Many Jets fans took the comments and concluded that Sauce hasn’t been enjoying his time in New York and, as a result, wasn’t going to tell others to join the team. This led Gardner to clarify his intentions with the exchange.

On Sunday, Sauce explained in his Instagram story that he won’t be recruiting Higgins because the Jets already have two great receivers: Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson. So, it seems like he’s walking back something he didn’t mean to say in the heat of the moment.

It is unquestionably okay for the players to be expressive on pressers and social media. In a sports scene filled with media-trained personalities who don’t have much to offer following games, it’s refreshing to see a player passionate enough to disregard the training.

As long as he doesn’t say any names, Sauce should be allowed to hold his team accountable. Michael Jordan did it for years in the NBA and is regarded as the greatest player of all time by many. Same goes for Tom Brady.