As the Jets were getting mauled by the Patriots on Monday night at MetLife Stadium, a mic'd up Sam Darnold was heard on the sidelines saying that he was "seeing ghosts out there."
That comment from Darnold, with the Jets down by the score of 24-0 in the first half, was fair game to be aired. But head coach Adam Gase said Tuesday that he and the rest of the organization were not happy about it.
"Yeah, I think we'll be looking into that pretty hard," Gase said during a conference call. "That was one of those things that was really disappointing to hear about after the game. I don't know if I've ever seen that where somebody that was mic'd up was basically -- a comment like that was allowed to be aired. It bothers me. It bothers the organization. I mean, obviously we're gonna be looking hard into our cooperation (with mic'd up players) going forward."
Jets RB Le'Veon Bell was also unhappy about the situation.
"The NFL screwed Sammy over," Bell tweeted on Tuesday. "There's not one player in the NFL who's cool with having every sideline convo broadcasted to millions...there's a reason we've never heard other QB's frustrated on the sideline like that before...that's crazy, @NFL did Sam dirty as hell"
Video: Gase not happy with ESPN airing Darnold comments
A representative from NFL Films is responsible for listening to the mic'd up footage and deciding what is allowed to air. Once a piece of footage is cleared, it is up to the network to decide whether or not to use it. Additionally, all quarterbacks and head coaches are required to be mic'd up once a season as part of the ESPN TV deal.
Darnold, who had arguably the worst game of his young career on Monday, threw four interceptions and lost a fumble as he struggled to adjust to what the Patriots were sending his way.
The second-year QB had a 3.6 QBR on the night and Gase pondered removing him at one point.
"That thought will always kind of pop into your head," Gase said after the game. "Especially with a young quarterback."
Instead of replacing Darnold, Gase stuck with him for the entirety of the Jets' 33-0 loss.