EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) 鈥� New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter said Friday he felt the need to call out quarterback Jaxson Dart publicly for introducing President Donald Trump at a rally last week.
鈥淪ome things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things,鈥� Carter said. 鈥淛axson is one of our leaders. He鈥檚 the face of our franchise. 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. But if he chooses to align himself with a man like President Trump, it鈥檚 my responsibility based on what I believe and what I stand on to not only show my teammates that I鈥檓 against that 鈥� but to show the world.鈥�
Carter took to social media on Saturday 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 and echoed those sentiments after an offseason workout practice.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean that we have to spread hate,鈥� Carter said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef. I sit next to Jaxson every day, every team meeting. We鈥檙e close. We talk. As long as we make sure we鈥檝e got the same goal as a team and our goals align, which they do, then I feel like that鈥檚 all that matters.鈥�
Dart said in a pre-prepared statement he discussed the situation with teammates and did not invoke Trump’s name. He said he valued the office of the president.
Coach John Harbaugh said he felt the Giants would be a better team coming out of the situation.
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