During Sunday's game against the Raiders in Las Vegas, Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected for spitting on an opponent. He addressed the situation after the game victory, without denying any of it.
"I’ve got to be a better player, I've got to be a better vet," Gardner-Johnson said. "I let my emotions get above me, and I hurt my team. They brought me here to play in big games like this. So I've got to do better and control my emotions, nothing crazy."
Asked specifically whether he spit on an opponent, Gardner-Johnson glossed over the question.
"I've got to control my emotions," Gardner-Johnson said. "It was nothing towards competitive. We just — like I said, heat of the moment. Everybody saw what was going on. It wasn't nothing egregious against nobody. Like I said, we was just competing in the game. A call was made, a flag was made. We went to chirping. And I guess, you know, just being competitive, like I say, nothing towards [Raiders tight end] Brock [Bowers] and nothing towards the team. Like I said, we was chirping, going back and forth. I've got to be better and keep pushing."
How did he process being required to leave before halftime?
"You've got to take it on the chin like a grown man, and understand that you can't be doing shit like that in a game," Gardner-Johnson said. "No matter how passionate I am, I just can't be doing shit like that in the game. I cost my team. A player to go down, which is me, as a vet. I'll be better. I'll take my consequence as it is. A fine, whatever it may be."
Gardner-Johnson also said he spoke to coach Joe Brady and apologized to the team. He also acknowledged that his "gesture isn't warranted."
For his part, Brady said, "The discipline of our football team has to improve. And that sure as hell can’t happen. The team is bigger than that. The situation is bigger than that. Everything is bigger. And it can't happen. And it definitely has to be addressed."
Again, Gardner-Johnson didn't specifically admit to doing it. Given the context, combined with his comments and his failure to deny doing it, it's clear that he knows he did it.
The next question is whether he'll get a suspension to go along with an ejection that resulted in Gardner-Johnson missing half of Sunday's game.