This guy is a public relations nightmare for the Giants…Olivier Vernon is costing the team so much but doesn’t realize he’s biting the hand that feeds him. He gave a reason for his protest that has more to do with politics than the supposed social justice cause that the NFL just dumped millions into: “Vernon passionately explained his decision to kneel after the game, and said Trump “ain’t my president.”
The Giant’s season has been a loser to begin with and now fans are turning away in droves because of the kneeling protest. This guy is a real entitled peach worth $85 million plus…OVERPAID LOSER
New York Giants defensive end Olivier Vernon ignited an outcry after telling fans if they don’t approve of his decision to kneel for the national anthem, “don’t come to the game.”
The retort came after Vernon, the only member of the Giants still regularly taking a knee, told reporters that he had been heckled by fans in response to his season-long protest.
“You hear ‘coward’ and ‘stand up’ and ‘disgrace,’” Vernon said. “It’s fine. As long as nobody comes on the field and touches me. You stay where you at, you’re going to be all right. They have a right. Oh yeah, I hear it all the time. If they don’t like it, don’t come to the game.”
His comments, which ran Thursday in the New York Post, stunned former NFL quarterback and CBS Sports commentator Boomer Esiason, who called them an “out-and-out disgrace.”
He pointed out that Vernon signed last year an $85 million, five-year contract with Giants owner John Mara, the richest for a defensive end in NFL history.
“Here is a guy you gave $80 million to basically telling your fans, ‘If you don’t like it, don’t come,’” said Esiason on WFAN radio in New York City. “It is the most egregious act of defiance. It just blows me away.
The NFL has struggled this season with fan outrage and declining ratings over the protest, which began last season as a statement against deaths of black men at the hands of police and surged in late September after President Trump criticized the players.
Since then, the number of players participating has dwindled, with about 20 refusing to stand for the anthem in Week 12.
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