Giants right tackle Evan Neal apologized to fans in a social media post Wednesday night. He did the same at a team meeting Thursday and told the media afterward that he hopes to rebuild trust with the fan base.
“I’m remorseful,” Neal said in the locker room, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN. “I definitely could have used a better choice of words. Coming from humble beginnings myself, I never wanted to belittle anyone, regardless of their financial status or occupation. So I really wanted to apologize for what I said.”
Giants coach Brian Daboll had a conversation with Neal about his “poor comments.”
Neal, during an interview with Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media, encouraged fans to “boo louder” and questioned why he should listen to “fair-weather” fans.
“The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere? " Neal told Slater. “Most critics really don’t understand the game of football to the level that we understand it in this building. So why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?”
Neal said Thursday his words were his frustration speaking out loud. The Giants are 1-3; they have been outscored 64-3 in two games at home; they rank 31st in total offense; and they allowed 11 sacks in the loss to the Seahawks on Monday night and have given up 23 for the season.
“I wasn’t trying to pick a fight with anyone, honestly,” Neal said. “That was just a moment of frustration. I kind of said something, although it was not my intent to offend anyone or anyone’s occupation, although that’s how it came across. And I own up for that. I could’ve just definitely used a better choice of words for sure. Hey, I love the fans that support us, are behind us, want to fight for us and cheer for us, so I just apologize to those that I offended.”