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05/30 14:50 CDT Giants' Abdul Carter felt the need to call out Jaxson Dart to
show he is against Donald Trump
Giants' Abdul Carter felt the need to call out Jaxson Dart to show he is
against Donald Trump
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Abdul Carter embraced Jaxson Dart after the New
York Giants quarterback read a statement about his decision to introduce
President Donald Trump at a rally last week. Then the young linebacker offered
a rebuke of his teammate.
Carter called the situation "bigger than football" and explained he felt the
need to call out Dart publicly for the decision.
"He not only represents himself and what he does, but he represents all of us
and that goes for anybody who wears a Giants uniform," Carter said Friday after
an offseason workout practice. "If he chooses to align himself with a man like
President Trump, it's my responsibility based on what I believe and what I
stand on to not only show my teammates that I'm against that --- but to show
the world."
Carter took to social media on May 23 to criticize his teammate after realizing
a video of Dart on stage with Trump was real. Hours later, Carter said he and
Dart spoke and were fine. Those posts have since been deleted.
"It doesn't mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef," Carter
said. "I sit next to Jaxson every day, every team meeting. We're close. We
talk. As long as we make sure we've got the same goal as a team and our goals
align, which they do, then I feel like that's all that matters."
Trump has targeted the diversity, equity and inclusion programs that helped
many Black Americans find jobs in both the federal government and a variety of
private industries. He has called DEI programs "discrimination," and he has
pushed to eradicate them from the government and put pressure on the private
sector to do the same.
Earlier this year, he posted and then deleted a racist video on social media
that depicted former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as
primates in a jungle.
Trump thanked Dart in a post on social media Saturday, saying: "I know you're
taking some heat from the Radical Left Lunatics who are jealous of you, me, and
everyone who surrounds us but, I also know that your Jersey also went to Number
One, and you're making Millions of Dollars so, YOU ARE A WINNER --- THEY ARE
ALL LOSERS. I'll see you in the White House!"
Dart in his 562-word statement never invoked Trump's name and said he valued
the office of the president. Dart called it "a unique opportunity, being asked
and given the opportunity to introduce the president of the United States."
Asked if he understood why the situation might bother teammates and if he
thought he made a mistake, Dart referred back to his statement. Carter said
Dart did not apologize for being at Trump's event.
"I don't want him to say he's sorry," Carter said. "Stand on what you believe
in. But it can't be a problem when I stand on what I believe in. That's all
that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it's all good."
Dart said he addressed the situation with teammates, including Carter, as part
of "honest conversations" over the past week. That included a meeting at the
Giants' facility Tuesday when Carter was not present, as well as a conversation
last weekend between the two players going into their second NFL season.
"We just talked," Dart said of Carter, who was also drafted in the first round
last year. "Me and him are one of the closer guys on the team with each other.
We've had a lot of conversation, and he's my brother. I know that I'm a brother
to him."
Coach John Harbaugh and veteran backup quarterback Jameis Winston attempted to
put a positive spin on going through the situation at a tense time in the U.S.
"We've got a blond-haired, blue-eyed white kid and a Black Muslim religion,
Black kid, who are coming together and showing y'all, showing the world that we
can come together," said Winston, who is also Black. "I think this is an
excellent opportunity for those two young men to realize what they represent,
the platform that they have, and how they're going to go about navigating that
and standing on what they both believe in."
Harbaugh, who has expressed support for Trump over the years, said he had no
concerns about a rift in the locker room and said "it's not going to affect
what kind of football team we are." He deferred to players about what kind of
guidelines they want to set.
"I think it's made us better, honestly," Harbaugh said. "I'm kind of grateful
for the opportunity that we had to have the conversation. But if you do things
the right way, you confront everything all the time that have to do with your
football team and your ability to be successful, and that was something to
confront and talk about. Rather than ignore it or rather than dictate
something, let's just talk about it."
Gunner Olszewski carted off with injury Receiver/return specialist Gunner Olszewski went down with a noncontact injury grabbing at his right leg late in practice, and teammates went down on one knee while he received medical attention. Olszewski was put on a cart and driven off the field, and it did not look good. "We'll find out what the situation is with that," Harbaugh said. "That was a noncontact change-of-direction kind of a deal there in the grass, so that was disappointing."
Arvell Reese signs his rookie contract No. 5 pick Arvell Reese, a linebacker out of Ohio State, signed his rookie contract on Friday, becoming the final member of the draft class to do so. No. 10 pick Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa signed earlier this week. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Gunner Olszewski carted off with injury Receiver/return specialist Gunner Olszewski went down with a noncontact injury grabbing at his right leg late in practice, and teammates went down on one knee while he received medical attention. Olszewski was put on a cart and driven off the field, and it did not look good. "We'll find out what the situation is with that," Harbaugh said. "That was a noncontact change-of-direction kind of a deal there in the grass, so that was disappointing."
Arvell Reese signs his rookie contract No. 5 pick Arvell Reese, a linebacker out of Ohio State, signed his rookie contract on Friday, becoming the final member of the draft class to do so. No. 10 pick Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa signed earlier this week. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
