Giants’ Abdul Carter felt the need to call out Jaxson Dart to show he is against Donald Trump

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) 鈥� embraced after the New York Giants quarterback read a statement about his decision to introduce last week. Then the young linebacker offered a rebuke of his teammate.

Carter called the situation 鈥渂igger than football” and explained he felt the need to call out Dart publicly for the decision.

鈥淗e not only represents himself and what he does, but he represents all of us and that goes for anybody who wears a Giants uniform,鈥� Carter said Friday after an offseason workout practice. “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. Those posts have since been deleted.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef,鈥� Carter said. “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�

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 鈥渄iscrimination,鈥� 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 and his wife, , as primates in a jungle.

Dart in his 562-word statement never invoked Trump’s name and said he valued the office of the president. Dart called it 鈥渁 unique opportunity, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the president of the United States.鈥�

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.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want him to say he鈥檚 sorry,鈥� Carter said. 鈥淪tand on what you believe in. But it can鈥檛 be a problem when I stand on what I believe in. That鈥檚 all that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it鈥檚 all good.鈥�

Dart said he addressed the situation with teammates, including Carter, as part of 鈥渉onest conversations鈥� over the past week. That included a meeting at the Giants’ facility Tuesday when Carter was not present, as well as a conversation Saturday between the two players going into their second NFL season.

鈥淲e just talked,” Dart said of Carter, who was also drafted in the first round last year. 鈥淢e and him are one of the closer guys on the team with each other. We鈥檝e had a lot of conversation, and he鈥檚 my brother. I know that I鈥檓 a brother to him.鈥�

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.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got a blond-haired, blue-eyed white kid and a Black Muslim religion, Black kid, who are coming together and showing y鈥檃ll, showing the world that we can come together,鈥� said Winston, who is also Black. 鈥淚 think this is an excellent opportunity for those two young men to realize what they represent, the platform that they have, and how they鈥檙e going to go about navigating that and standing on what they both believe in.鈥�

Harbaugh, who has expressed support for Trump over the years, said he had no concerns about a rift in the locker room and said 鈥渋t鈥檚 not going to affect what kind of football team we are.鈥� He deferred to players about what kind of guidelines they want to set.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 made us better, honestly,鈥� Harbaugh said. 鈥淚鈥檓 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鈥檚 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.

鈥淲e鈥檒l find out what the situation is with that,鈥� Harbaugh said. 鈥淭hat was a noncontact change-of-direction kind of a deal there in the grass, so that was disappointing.鈥�

Arvell Reese signs his rookie contract

, 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 鈥淪isi鈥� Mauigoa signed earlier this week.

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