Head Coach John Harbaugh
JOHN HARBAUGH: Good to see everybody. Appreciate you being here. Obviously a beautiful day. Three really good practices this week, capped off by another really good practice. Really appreciate the way the guys are working, the energy they're putting forward, the attention to detail, how much they're improving from day-to-day into the football team that we've trying to build.
Did have the unfortunate incident at the end with Gunner (Olszewski). We'll find out what the situation is with that. That was a non-contact change-of-direction kind of a deal there in the grass, so that was disappointing.
But beyond that, just so proud of the guys and so appreciative of the effort, coaches and players. Really like the mindset of this football team. We've got another week behind us. We'll have two more weeks to go. We'll have the phase 2 final week, third week next week, three days into four days, and then we'll have the mandatory minicamp after that. Then the guys will get away for about five weeks and be back for training camp.
What questions do you have?
Q. Since we have spoken to you last, there have been some off-the-field news certainly. The players talked about it. What's your take on all this and how it affects the locker room and the decision making and all that stuff?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Sure. It's all good questions, and it's interesting stuff. I think it's part of the conversation of life. We're part of that, too, as a football team, like any workplace.
It was a great opportunity. It was really a good opportunity for us as a football team to have these kind of conversations around a real life incident, something that comes up.
It's one thing to talk about it in theory, to say, I want to handle this, that or the other, and we do. But when you have something that happens that's real because things are going to happen that are real, you get a chance to talk about them practically.
That was the best part about it. We had a chance to talk to the guys a little bit through the weekend, then we got in first thing Tuesday because that was our first chance back together. We didn't want to let it sit. The veterans came in and we had a really good conversation with those guys.
We went into a team meeting, and really the important thing to understand is that we are -- what we are is a collection of all of us together. So we need to understand really how we want to approach these things going forward.
You don't want to stand up there and just try to dictate some terms as a coach. You want to find out what the players think, how the coaches and players feel about it, and really mainly the players because, as I told them, it's your team. What you want the focus to be on and what you want to be about going forward and the way we're going to treat one another going forward, is it going to be centered around respect and those kind of things, that's really up to you guys as a team. You guys need to decide and then let's talk about it and let's decide what we're going to do.
We had a good little meeting. It wasn't real long but it was to the point, and the players established amongst themselves how they wanted to approach these kind of things. They're part of the dialogue in our society. They did a great job. I was proud of them. I was impressed by them. Couldn't have asked for anything better.
So we're in a good place now, and we're moving forward.
Q. Do you think Jaxson made a mistake?
JOHN HARBAUGH: I don't think it's about that. I don't think it has anything to do with that. It's not a judgment type of a thing. There's nothing to be judged.
It's funny, Andy Reid, I remember Andy Reid used to have a card behind his desk. I looked at it for about two years before I asked him what it was. I've told this story before. But it just said, don't judge. I finally had the nerve to ask him, and he explained that that's the point and it's a biblical principle, but the point is everybody comes from a different place, a different space, a different background. People are brought up in all kinds of different ways. That is a fact. That is the beauty of a football team. It is a microcosm of society.
I don't know if there's any more of a better example of like the ultimate team endeavor than a football team. I've always believed that. I'm a football coach, and of course I think that, but I do believe that.
That's where all those things have to be addressed, and it starts with respect. It starts with mutual respect for one another. That goes in every kind of direction, every kind of way, and that's the way our guys approached it, and I was proud of them for that.
Q. What was your role on Saturday in the communication with Abdul and Jaxson because obviously Abdul tweets in the morning and then tweets he and Jaxson had spoken in the afternoon. What was your role?
JOHN HARBAUGH: I didn't talk to those guys until later. I didn't get too involved in it. I heard about it and kind of let it sit for a while to see where it went, and I talked to them later.
All that stuff -- whatever happened with those guys was between those guys, and that's the way it should be. It's not for me to get in the middle of it and start telling those guys what to do.
If they had a conversation, which I think they said they did, by the time I talked to both those guys, they said they had already talked, and they were good.
Q. You said you've kind of come to a policy as a team. What is that policy?
JOHN HARBAUGH: That's our policy. That's our way of approaching it. But you can ask the players. Ask them. They're the ones that decided how we're going to approach it. Guys like AT (Andrew Thomas), guys like (Brian) Burns, guys like Jameis (Winston), all those guys. All the guys really. There's a number of guys that were a part of those conversations. Just ask them.
But I'd say if I was going to sum it up in any kind of way, it's that we have respect for one another in all things we do, and they do because that's the way a football team is. You have to respect one another. It's a hard sport to play, and they already come in with mutual respect for one another.
So respect everything about a person's situation, including their opinions, and then keep it about the main thing, which is our mission. That's what we're here for.
We're here to be the very best football team we can be. We want to be the best team in the league, and we want to prove it. That's our goal. That's our mission. We've got to work hard to do that, and there's going to be all these different things that are going to come up, but stay focused on that as much as you can and deal with all the other stuff because the other stuff is part of life, too.
If I was going to sum it up, it would be that way. But I think you should ask them and see what they say.
Q. Did you or anyone else in the organization know that Jaxson was going to do this prior to it happening?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, we knew he was going to shake the President's hand. Someone said to me, Jaxson is going to go meet the President, and I was like, great, good for him.
Q. Politics aside, Jaxson bringing up the Giants and Big Blue Nation and leading cheers, was that something that maybe -- you tell me.
JOHN HARBAUGH: Again, I don't mean to interrupt the question because I think it's a good question and it's a fair conversation and I think anybody can have their opinion about it and write about it. Look at it how you want. I respect that opinion.
It's not for me to judge. It's not important. It's not going to affect what kind of football team we are. I think I'll leave it for other people to have that conversation.
Q. Do you sense it had any effect on your team? Obviously you had the team meeting on Tuesday. The last couple days at all?
JOHN HARBAUGH: No, I think it's been great. I think it's made us better, honestly, if I was looking at it. I'm kind of grateful for the opportunity that we had to have the conversation because it's like -- I kind of shared this with you guys before.
But if you do things the right way, you confront everything all the time that have to do with your football team and your ability to be successful, and that was something to confront and talk about.
Rather than ignore it or rather than dictate something, let's just talk about it. Let's confront it, and let's decide how we're going to do it, and they did it, and they moved on and had three great practices.
I feel like it's probably, but if I'm being really honest about it, I feel like it made us better in a lot of ways.
Q. Given that Jaxson is the quarterback of your team, does he have to conduct himself differently or more conscientiously about what he's standing for or representing publicly given that he represents a group of people and not just himself?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, the big picture question, a general question, set it aside from this specific decision, absolutely, he knows that. You're the quarterback of the Giants; it's a great honor. It's a great privilege. There's nothing like it.
He's a young guy, and he wants to do his best to do that and be the best quarterback, the best person, the best teammate he can be, and he'll continue to strive to do that.
Q. When you said it made the team better, how did you see this make the team better, just in what way?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, the way I've been talking about, the chance to talk about those things and establish what we want to be about and how we want to handle challenges like this because it's not going to be the last thing. There's going to be all kind of things.
Games are going to go the way they're going to go. Plays are going to get made, plays are not going to get made. Stuff is going to happen out there in the world. Things are going to get said. Stuff is going to be done. How are we going to approach this as a team.
You've got to decide ahead of time how you want to handle things, like you do in your life. You've got to say, okay, this is what I stand for, this is what we want to be about, in your family or your workplace or whatever.
How it made us better was the fact that we were able to have that conversation and just kind of establish -- not kind of, just establish what the principles were going to be, and the players did that. That was the players doing that together amongst themselves.
I can't think of a better way to do it than that.
Q. If Abdul had sent Jaxson a text, we wouldn't have known about it. Did you use this as a teaching moment about anything --
JOHN HARBAUGH: I don't mean to interrupt you, but I'm not worried about all that. There's a lot of ways to handle, there's a lot of ways to communicate, there's a lot of ways to talk. There's a lot of ways to do things better. Certainly going forward, I'm sure we all learned, and that's a good thing. That's what you do.
Q. Just to clarify, you said you knew that Jaxson was going to meet the President and shake his hand. Did you know that it was going to be in a public way, introducing the President?
JOHN HARBAUGH: No, but it doesn't matter. I'm not worried about it. I'm not into all those details about it. It's not something that concerns me. What concerns me is our football team, our guys, our team, our team talking, our team being on the same page and confronting and talking about whatever it might be. How do we play cover three? We've got to talk about it every second. How do we handle noise or criticism or how do we handle success? We had that conversation.
How about we win five games in a row. When that happens, how are we going to handle that? Are we going to start thinking we're all that? Are we going to start thinking the next game is going to come easy, or are we going to be locked in and determined? That's another conversation that we had kind of brought up through all this. Rudyard Kipling, triumph and disaster, beat those two imposters, treat them just the same. It's something like that. It's along those lines. That's kind of how I look at it.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart
JAXSON DART: Appreciate you all being here. I understand that there's probably going to be questions that involve off-the-field topics, and for that, I have a statement, and I hope I can answer as many of those questions that you all may have.
I ask that we can talk about football after that, and I hope that we can understand and respect that from each other.
Obviously, this was a unique opportunity, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the President of the United States. My thinking was pretty simple in the fact of I've always loved this country. I have extended family members who have fought in wars. I have two uncles who have retired from the Air Force Academy and served themselves. I even have a great grandfather who served as the Secretary of the Treasury at some point.
The President position has always been a position that I've respected, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party. My intentions were just that.
I also understand in this world, politics can be a sensitive matter, a sensitive topic. I also understand that I am the quarterback of the New York Giants, and that involves a lot of responsibility. I'm under a microscope, and there's a lot that comes with it, and it's something that I've embraced.
I've loved being here. I love the city of New York. I love the (state) of New Jersey, the people that I've met here. It's just been a really amazing experience, and there's not another place that I'd rather be.
Most importantly, the people in this organization, my teammates, the staff, coaches, everybody that has a hand, José (Garcia), you name it, I've loved making relationships with them and growing connections. That's the kind of person that I am. I'm a connector. I love making relationships with people. I love hearing everybody's stories and being somebody who people can rely on to be there for them.
Most importantly, I can honestly say that I love every single one of my brothers, my teammates on this team, regardless of politics, regardless of religious beliefs, regardless of anything that may be different between us. I love them, and they know exactly what kind of person that I am who comes into the facility every day and who lays -- I'll lay my body on the line for my guys each and every week. It's from the connections that we've built, the love that we have for each other.
I've been somebody who's always respected the different perspectives that people may have, the backgrounds they come from. I understand that we have such a cool opportunity as people to be in the locker room where it's a melting pot of people from everywhere, and we get to be together.
I think that the connections that we build are special because we're able to have vulnerable conversations. We're able to learn from each other, to support each other, irrespective of the color of our skin. We have a real brotherhood.
We've had a lot of honest conversations with each other as a team, and I'd like to keep those things private between me and my teammates and just everything that's been said, but I love these guys, and going forward I can't wait for what more we have to grow, you know, the culture of this team, our brotherhood.
Obviously, we understand the biggest goal is to be the best team that we can be, to put ourselves in a best position to succeed, to chase a championship, to be the best players for Coach Harbs and all the coaches here. That's our focus going forward each and every day.
I can't wait to continue to do that. Appreciate you guys.
Q. Jaxson, respectfully, do you understand why introducing that President would be something that some of your teammates would have a problem with and why it's viewed as controversial?
JAXSON DART: Look, I respect the question. I understand the question. My statement is all that I have for you guys right now. That's where I'm at.
Q. Do you think you made a mistake?
JAXSON DART: Look, I just gave my statement. I'd ask that we can all respect that, and obviously know that's where I'm at right now.
Q. Were you taken aback by what happened afterwards? This is not a political question, this is a football/society question. Were you surprised after you did that that this blew up into what it blew up into?
JAXSON DART: I think obviously we've had conversations as a team. I think that this is just kind of the situation that was at hand was -- I don't think that you ever really expect things to be exactly what they are, I would say.
But from my point of view, what I said earlier is what I have right now. Yeah, I'm looking forward to continuing to get better as a team and to grow relationships.
Q. As the leader of the team, did you feel like you needed to address your teammates about this? Is that something John Harbaugh said to you about this week, about addressing this with your teammates, or is that something you wanted to do?
JAXSON DART: I'm open with all my teammates. I think that it was a very -- everybody saw it the same way. For me, as teammates, we want to become closer, be the best. When you're on the field and you're playing in front of the world and you're in vulnerable positions, you've got to be able to trust the man next to you. I think the most important thing that we have together is communication.
That was kind of my point of view, and we all want to communicate and be honest and share our perspectives from every side and just communicate. And I think that's what's so special about the team that we have here, is our ability to do that.
Q. Abdul said that you guys spoke and ironed it out. How important was that to you to do, and did you reach out to him? Did you initiate that?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, we just talked. Me and Abdul came here at the same time. We shared a lot of very similar experiences. We experienced adversity through a season and had to have each other's backs, and that's exactly what we continue to do today. Me and him are one of the closer guys on the team with each other. We've had a lot of conversation and he's my brother. I know that I'm a brother to him.
At the end of the day, we want to be the best people and players for each other.
Outside Linebacker Abdul Carter
Q. What went through your head when you saw that (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart) had introduced the President and made you tweet that?
ABDUL CARTER: Yeah, I'm just going to address this one time because we all want to move past this and get over this, like everybody do.
First off, I'm going to say that some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things. Jaxson is one of our leaders. He's the face of our franchise. He not only represents himself and what he does, but he represents all of us, and that goes for anybody who wears a Giants uniform.
But if he chooses to align himself with a man like President Trump, it's my responsibility based on what I believe and what I stand on to not only show my teammates that I'm against that, but to show the world.
That doesn't mean that we have to spread hate. It doesn't mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef. I sit next to Jaxson every day, every team meeting. We're close. We talk. As long as we make sure we've got the same goal as a team and our goals align, which they do, I feel like that's all that matters.
I just want to move past this, and yeah, that's it. I'll take any questions about anything else, but in terms of this, I just want to move past this.
Q. When you spoke to Jaxson, do you think he fully understood and respected your viewpoint on what you just said to us?
ABDUL CARTER: Exactly. I know Jaxson is a good dude. Like I said I was drafted with this guy. I've known him for almost two years now, so I know what he represents, and I know that our goals align as a team. Just because we have a disagreement on something doesn't mean that there is something more than that. It's just a disagreement and we can talk about it as men, which we did, and move forward from it. That's my last time answering that.
Q. When you guys had conversations and Coach Harbaugh mentioned you had a team meeting, how did that team meeting make you more confident this team is ready to move past this and be better, as you said?
ABDUL CARTER: Like I said, everybody that's on the team are grown men, so we have conversations. We talk about it, and we move on from it.
Q. Do you feel like you were heard by everybody in the room and not just Jaxson or Coach Harbs?
ABDUL CARTER: I feel like everybody heard me and understands, yeah.
Q. When did you talk to the rest of your teammates about it?
ABDUL CARTER: We talk about it every day. If it's something that's going on between the team, we're going to always make sure we talk about it and not let anything go under the rug.
Q. Tell me if I'm wrong, but you weren't here early in the week --
ABDUL CARTER: No.
Q. I guess this was Thursday, right? Did you talk to your teammates separately as a group or did you talk to them separately?
ABDUL CARTER: No. I've had one-on-one conversations with my teammates and just talking with our views and things, how somebody views certain things and how I view certain things. It's just conversations that we have.
Q. Harbaugh said that he felt how this thing happened at the beginning of the week, you guys have come out of this a stronger football team, a stronger locker room. Do you feel the same way and why?
ABDUL CARTER: I think everything happens for a reason. When things like this happen, it's an opportunity for us to come together, to talk about it, learn more about each other and just move forward from it.
Q. Did Jaxson say he was sorry for doing it?
ABDUL CARTER: No. I don't want him to say he's sorry. Stand on what you believe in. But it can't be a problem when I stand on what I believe in. That's all that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it's all good.
Quarterback Jameis Winston
Q. What has this last week been like as a veteran in the league and watching two guys go through that?
JAMEIS WINSTON: I think it reflects what togetherness looks like. In terms of we don't have to agree. We don't have to respect or even understand people's perspective. But I think we should support their perspective because that's what they believe in, right?
So I think these two young guys being resilient and showing that uncomfortable situations and coming to a, not a compromise, but coming to a position of strength, of authority, of the impact that they have, that we have as athletes with this platform to the world, is so good for them to experience.
Because guys, they were drafted together. You don't have a tighter bond than that. They sit next to each other in the team meeting room. That's what we see in this world. Sometimes we try to normalize just opinions, people's opinions. Everybody wants to jump on, oh, he said this, she did that, but we don't normalize togetherness. We don't normalize perspective. Everyone has that.
At the end of the day, as a team, I promise you it is our burning desire to find ways to unify, to come together and to be great football players, and what does football encompass? What does sport encompass? Sport encompasses diversity, sport encompasses people that literally we get the chance to experience failures and success with all of y'all, the people that write, the people that sit there and watch in the stands, and the home viewers that just have their opinion. We all are experiencing this together.
I think a lot of people like to focus on the macro of like, look what he did or look what she said, but we don't focus on how we can see the seed of good and the unity and the ability to handle tough situations or tough circumstances that this team is dealing with that has nothing to do with football right now.
Q. You used the word "uncomfortable" and the idea of these are uncomfortable situations, they're tough situations. As a team, how do you guys turn uncomfortable into a growing moment and something that you guys can get stronger from?
JAMEIS WINSTON: I'm about to show you how you turn uncomfortable into a growing moment. I'm from a city, Birmingham, Alabama, where they blew up a church with four little girls and their parents and family had to go around picking up their limbs in the deep south. Picking up their limbs, four little girls.
I'm from a city where a little nine year old girl who decided to march got put in jail for volunteering her right of free speech, for standing on what she believes in. That's history, and I believe history repeats itself.
But I also believe in respecting authority, respecting, treating a man and a woman as I would like to be treated. That is how uncomfortable situations and uncomfortable times have unified people. Because you know them, you realize from them, and you grow from them.
Right now, I mean, I haven't been a part of any openly traumatizing things like that happened, not 250 years ago when this country came into existence but try about 80 years ago. We got people that still lived during that time. Those little girls would still be living right now. That nine year old girl that got sprayed with hoses and you put dogs on her and put her in jail, she's still living right now.
I read this book about this nine year old marcher to my kids. That's why educating our youth and informing them of our history is so important.
A lot of people try to push it past, like oh, my gosh, that's behind us. No, guys, we're living in it right now. We've got a blond haired, blue eyed white kid and a Black Muslim religion, Black kid, who are coming together and showing y'all, showing the world that we can come together.
We don't have to see everything -- everything doesn't have to be viewed in this perfect little snow globe and everything doesn't have to be perfect.
But we have to support each other. We have to promote love, because love is a stronger feeling than hate, and eliminate these unwanted opinions. Everybody has something to say. But how many people are willing to act on change?
How many people are willing to be the change that they desire to see instead of just pointing fingers and saying, oh, he said this, let's cancel him. Oh, my God, he believes this. We've got to get him. That was uncomfortable, wasn't it? That's how it happens.
You educate. You grow from it. You build calluses.
Q. Are you proud of (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter) then for standing up against what he feels is divisiveness?
JAMEIS WINSTON: I'm proud of (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart) and Abdul for having this conversation, getting in front of y'all and speaking what they would love. I'm proud of our team for understanding we don't have to pick a side in this. We have to have support for other people's on our team, and what they stand for.
I'm not going to say, oh, man, you're wrong; why with you do that. I'm going to say, okay, that's probably not what I believe, but I love you as I love myself. So, I'm going to give you some grace, and I'm going to help you, I'm going to show you, look, man, this is what happened. This is how you handle this. This is what teamwork looks like.
But being proud of my teammates being separated by the mass media and hearing the opinions of people that don't have nothing to do with this building but just looking at a reason to point fingers at a blond haired blue eyed white boy and a Black Muslim. That is what's happening to the world. They poke and prod at these young men.
I know Abdul says, we're men. But how many people in this group have never made a mistake? How many people in this group have never said something or did something that they wish they didn't do?
I don't know. I don't know how many people in the world can say that they didn't say or do something that they would take back. I'm a person, I don't have many regrets. But I do have moments of education where I have to learn about the platform that I have and the actions and the decisions that I make and who that impacts.
I think this is an excellent opportunity for those two young men to realize what they represent, the platform that they have, and how they're going to go about navigating that and standing on what they both believe in.
Q. Jameis, you've been on multiple teams, obviously. How does this group, mostly a lot of younger guys, how does this group from your experience, how have they handled it compared to, say, other locker rooms in terms of the veteran presence, the young guys? How has this group handled this to where Harbs (head coach John Harbaugh) says you have to come out better from it?
JAMEIS WINSTON: We've grown from it, and that's the thing. We're dealing with a chaotic situation that has nothing to do with our required profession. We're understanding the importance of our voice and who we're capable of impacting. I think that is – that's what I want for all my teammates to understand, know that it's bigger than you. It's bigger than the team itself.
We've all got people that make decisions, but the reverence for authority, the reverence for the process of growth has to be there. The reverence for life itself, it has to be there.
I think that is where we're learning as a building. We're learning. We're growing. But we're focused on winning football games, man.
I think one thing, like you see FIFA World Cup over theew, I think one thing we're going to quickly understand is we've got people coming from all nationalities, religions, perspectives coming into this city, this city that we represent.
Are we just going to get mad and say, 'oh, my God, why are these people from there coming over here, they're taking all the parking spots, they're doing all this stuff' or are we going to embrace the diversity that sport brings us? Are we going to embrace the platform that we're going to get to cheer, celebrate or cry? Have a kick with our buddy, have a tough conversation with our sister about what's going on in this country right now or what's going on in the world right now.
I think that's what is bigger than them, and I think this team is going to benefit from being able to deal with this situation that's been put on us about opinions, conditions and facts. Even if they're true, they're still opinions of other people. We know what we represent up here in this building. We know what we get paid to do.
But a lot of us are opening our eyes to the influence that we do have on the whole world, and that's a beautiful thing. When you can humble yourself and realize that, man, I've got impact. I can really be the change that I desire to see and that's what I'm encouraging these guys to do.
