Sauce Gardner believes former Jets teammate Mecole Hardman ‘never earned his stripes’

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It’s been a few weeks since the initial exchange on social media between Hardman and Gardner, in which a since-deleted post by Gardner called out the Chiefs wideout for allegedly leaking game plans.

During Gardner’s interview, he did not seem to want to attack Hardman’s character, but rather set the record straight on why he did not fit in with the Jets.

“We’re always around each other … in the locker room having fun … always talking to each other after practice. The reason he couldn’t do that is because he never earned his stripes. He came into the facility and just thought he had it made for him.”

“If you know what it takes to win, you’re not going to go to practice and drop hella punts, and then have excuses as to why you’re dropping them,” Gardner continued.

“You’re not going to go into a special teams meeting and get cussed out by the special teams coordinator. There’s just certain things that aren’t going to happen if you truly know what it takes to win.”

In the end, Gardner confessed he was proud of Hardman’s recent success with Kansas City, stating, “I’m actually proud of him for being able to go there and make those plays late in the season.”

“I’m sure when he came to the Jets, he wasn’t expecting to go back to Kansas City that same year. I’m proud of him for being able to win a Super Bowl … for being able to make that catch to end the game.”

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Read more:

• Mecole Hardman denies allegations of leaking game plans to Jets’ opponents
• Mecole Hardman rips into Jets, opens Chiefs to potential tampering investigation