Chicago Bears receiver Javon Wims was ejected from Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints after, seemingly unprovoked, throwing several punches at Saints defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson which ignited a small skirmish between the two teams.
Wims reportedly told the Bears Gardner-Johnson ripped out his mouthpiece and spit on him during the game.
Gardner-Johnson briefly spoke about the incident Monday and while he declined to go into much detail about it, said he was “innocent.”
“It's a lot of ‘he say, he say’ out there,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Ain’t nothing happen. Nobody got spit on…it should be no where on the field of play when the game is going on.”
Footage from previous plays that showed Gardner-Johnson ripping Wims’ mouthpiece from his helmet and poking another Bears receiver in the face.
Gardner-Johnson, not speaking about those moments specifically, went on to say that his actions didn’t warrant the Wims’ behavior.
“I play football like its football guys, it gets chippy out there. I don’t know what to tell you,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I wouldn’t be here today if I’m not me. So I’m not fixing to change for nobody. I’m out there playing football so if it goes farther than that, I don’t want to get intertwined with that. That has nothing to do with me.”
Gardner-Johnson also declined to address a reported incident between he and Saints receiver Michael Thomas that reportedly lead to the star receiver being held out of the Saints win against the Los Angeles Chargers for disciplinary reasons.
“He’s still my teammate. It’s still respect for him,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I can’t wait ’til he gets back so we can play football. I’m not speaking on that situation. I’m sorry. We good. I see him every day so I can’t wait ’til he gets back so we can win.”
