New York Giants star Jaxson Dart made attempts to repair the fractured locker room on Wednesday following the backlash surrounding his introduction of Donald Trump.
The quarterback sparked controversy last week when he appeared at a MAGA rally in Suffern, New York, where he introduced Trump for a stump speech at Rockland Community College.
The fiercest criticism came from within his own locker room with teammate Abdul Carter taking to social media to hit out at his signal caller over the political stunt.
Amid speculation over a potential civil war in the New York camp, Dart addressed his teammates during a meeting on Wednesday, according to NFL insiders Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport.
The 23-year-old Dart is said to have called the meeting to discuss his introduction of Trump with he and the team now moving past the issue.
The players reportedly worked to put the controversy behind them as they look towards the upcoming 2026 NFL season.
New York Giants star Jaxson Dart addressed his teammates after his MAGA rally appearance
The NFL quarterback introduced President Donald Trump at an event in Suffern, New York
Other team leaders, including Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dart’s fellow quarterback Jameis Winston, also all reportedly spoke.
Wednesday’s training marked the Giants’ first day of Phase 2 of OTAs, with Dart calling the meeting at the first opportunity the team was together.
OTAs, however, are voluntary practice sessions for veterans and it is unclear if Carter reported for training on Wednesday.
The day after Dart’s MAGA appearance, the linebacker had commented on a clip of the quarterback’s interaction with the president and wrote: ‘Thought this s*** was AI , what we doing man’.
He later took to social media to insist that he and Dart were ‘good,’ sharing that they had spoken ‘as men.’
Potential unrest among his players would not have been ideal for new Giants head coach John Harbaugh as he prepares for his first season in charge of the team.
Both Dart and Carter are expected to be key players if Harbaugh hopes to inspire a turnaround in the team’s fortunes.
Dart was a shock choice to be given the role of introducing Trump at Rockland Community College north of the city on Friday.
Dart’s teammate, linebacker Abdul Carter, criticized the political stunt on social media
Dart led the audience on a chant of ‘Go Big Blue!’ before introducing Trump on May 22
‘I’m grateful, I’m honored, I’m pleasured to introduce the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump,’ the former first-round Draft pick said to the excited crowd.
The President then walked onstage to the tune of Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the USA’ before hugging Dart, whom he later called a ‘future Hall of Famer’.
During his speech, Trump said a few nice words about Dart’s physical appearance: ‘I’m looking at Jaxson… I’m looking at the legs there. He’s this beautiful guy. He’s got legs like tree trunks. This is not a good thing for women.’
Dart’s appearance attracted further widespread criticism away from the Giants locker room with The View’s Joy Behar branding the NFL player ‘stupid’ and ‘racist’ over the move.
She alleged: ‘For somebody to back a guy like Trump, whose history in discrimination and racism goes back to housing discrimination in the ’70s, DEI attacks, and posting pictures of the Obamas as apes… when he’s on a team that’s 55 to 60 percent of the NFL, that much percentage of black people, that is just the definition of stupidity and racist in my opinion.’
However, others have leaped to Dart’s defense with former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes responding to Carter’s post.
He wrote: ‘The locker room is a sacred place because it brings together everyone from all walks of life and beliefs for one common goal. Calling a teammate out publicly for his political views and to get attention is nasty work.’
