How Certain are We That Geno Smith Actually Owed IK Enemkpali Money?

One thing that has been reported as almost a given over the last day, in the Geno Smith saga, is that Smith owed IK Enemkpali money. That appears to be based on a $600 plane ticket that Enemkpali purchased for Smith to attend a football camp in Plugerville, Texas, that Smith did not attend.

[Related: Geno Smith Put His Finger in IK Enemkpali’s Face, then Got Punched]

I asked this question internally from a legal perspective, and then former Jets tight end Anthony Becht offered a practical take.

I’m not sure that Enemkpali would have had a claim in a court of law, absent something in writing that Geno Smith would reimburse him for a ticket if he did not attend. (And yes, this would have made a great People’s Court case).

Think about it this way. Smith wasn’t apparently expected to pay a dime to come to the camp. That was a sunk cost by Enemkpali as part of putting on a camp. Yet Smith’s expected to then pay for not attending? It would appear that Smith did not use the ticket. As Becht says, that’s why you get refundable tickets (the other option would be to have the player purchase the ticket and reimburse on arrival).

Yeah, the reason that Smith didn’t attend might play into emotions. (We’ve heard a funeral, versus, who knows, whatever speculation about Smith not coming you want to throw out). But I’m not sure it’s accurate to jump to Smith failing to pay a debt, and Becht’s account would suggest that’s not the practice. That anything legally was owed is certainly not clear.