The Las Vegas Raiders found themselves at the center of some offseason controversy on Sunday June 29, 2025 after a video surfaced of quarterback Geno Smith’s heated exchange at a 7-on-7 youth football game.
In the clip, Smith has a strong verbal exchange on the sideline, talking trash to someone else near the sideline.
“That’s why I get paid the big bucks!” Smith declared repeatedly. He also used the n-word at one point in the clip.
Smith then ran into a security guard before turning around and walking away on his own volition.
The exchange set the sports media world on fire, with some outlets saying that Smith had to be “held back by security” and questioning if he should receive punishment from the Raiders or the NFL for violating personal conduct policies, especially given the game was broadcast on NFL Network and Smith was wearing a Raiders hat during it.
But Smith’s teammate Maxx Crosby thought the whole thing was completely overblown. In a post on X, Crosby not only defended Smith, but even supported his actions.
“You don’t have to explain nothing to nobody brother,” Crosby wrote. “F— ‘em all. That’s my QB.”
Geno Previously Defended Himself
Crosby’s defense came in the wake of Smith’s own post on X, in which he defended himself from all of the backlash.
“Having fun with the game I love but man, the need for clicks and negativity takes away from the great event that happened this past weekend,” Smith wrote. “All the kids had fun and competed. All around great event. This is how we talk in Dade County, I’m sorry you might not understand. Carry on!”
In Smith’s defense, if you actually watch the clip, much of the media’s reaction truly has been overblown. It looks like the same kind of trash talk you would see on a regular basis in an NBA and NFL game. Smith wasn’t actually “held back” by security at all and wasn’t violent whatsoever. He was just having some fun and chirping, which has been a part of sports as long as they have existed.
Smith later confirmed he felt the exchange was “super light” and doubled down that this was run of the mill for him and any competitive football player or coach.
“I’ve heard worse at family reunion spade tables,” Smith wrote in another post.
Smith’s Famous Trash Talk
Of course, Geno Smith has gone viral for trash talk before.
Back on September 12, 2022, after Smith led the Seattle Seahawks to a 17-16 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in his first game as the Seahawks starting QB, he uttered a line during a postgame interview that would go down in NFL history.
“They wrote me off but I ain’t write back though,” Smith said.
When that moment happened, it was universally celebrated because of the context. Smith was the underdog who was having his moment in the spotlight.
But because of the misrepresented “context” of Smith’s trash talk, he was disparaged this time instead of celebrated.
What do you think, Raiders fans? Was Geno Smith in the wrong, or do you think sports media members need to be more careful with how they represent players and situations, giving more care for context?
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