Giants' Evan Neal lashes out at fans, critics before apologizing
Evan Neal #73 of the Giants walks off the field after a game against the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Evan Neal isn’t going to take it anymore.
Having heard enough from critics, including fans of the Giants, Neal, the second-year tackle who is struggling again this season, went scorched earth on Wednesday in the team’s locker room before later apologizing.
“Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?” the right tackle said in an interview with NJ.com. “The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
The Giants lost to the Seahawks on Monday night, 24-3. Plenty of Giants didn’t play well in the game.
But Neal’s decision to turn on the fans was something that the leadership of the Giants will not be pleased about.
“Most critics really don’t understand the game of football to the level that we understand it in this building,” Neal said. “So why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep? I’m just going to focus on Evan — and getting better. I honestly do not care what anybody has to say about Evan Neal, because they’re going to talk anyway.”
On the broadcast, Neal was seen baiting fans to boo louder.
“Because that just further shows that people are fair-weather,” Neal told NJ.com. “A lot of fans are bandwagoners. I mean, I get it, they want to see us perform well. And I respect all of that. But no one wants us to perform well more than we do.
“And how can you say you’re really a fan when we’re out there battling our [butts] off — and the game wasn’t going well — but the best you can do is boo your home team? So how much of a fan are you, really?”
Neal apparently had a change of heart Wednesday night, saying on X (formerly Twitter), "I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am. I let my frustrations in my play + desire to win get the best of me."
The Giants gave up 11 sacks on Monday night and quarterback Daniel Jones was constantly under siege.
By PFF grades, Neal sports a season-to-date grade of 42.5, which ranks 68th among all tackles.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
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