The New York Giants have obviously had their struggles this season, and their fans have had just about enough of their poor play. This led to an interaction between fans and starting right tackle Evan Neal where he publicly lashed out against the fans, which he has since apologized for.
During their Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, the Giants were booed off the field at halftime. This prompted Neal to rile them up, raising his arms up, a gesture for them to get even louder.
Then Neal proceeded to publicly blast the fans in attendance on Wednesday in an interview with NJ Advanced Media.
“They were booing us, so I said, ‘Boo louder!’ Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep? The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
It’s obviously never a good look to bash fans of your team, even if they are frustrated with the product that the team is producing on the field.
Neal seems to realize this as well, taking to social media to issue an apology to the fans.
“I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am,” tweeted Neal. “I let my frustration in my lay + desire to win get the best of me. I had no right to make light of anyone’s job and I deeply regret the things I said. We are working day in and day out to grow as a team and this was an unnecessary distraction. I apologize.”
— Evan Neal (@ENeal73) October 5, 2023
It’s fine for a struggling player like Neal to be frustrated. But it is much better to focus that frustration into improving and helping the team turn their season around instead of bashing his critics. Neal and the Giants will get the chance to do just that in a very tough matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Week 5.