The New York Giants parted ways with veteran cornerback Janoris Jenkins on Friday, waiving him after what some perceived to be a lacking apology over the use of a derogatory term on Twitter.
For some of Jenkins’ young teammates, his release came with both shock and sadness.
“Rabbit was more like a coach than just a teammate,” sophomore cornerback Sam Beal told the New York Daily News. “He didn’t have to stand there and coach me up as a rookie at practice. He didn’t have to tell me to sit by him at meetings, but he did. He made me come over in the meeting room and sit by him just because he’d coach me up.
“[His release] was tough for me. I ain’t gonna lie.”
Veteran safety Michael Thomas expressed a disappointment in the situation, but noted that Jenkins’ release “resonates” in the locker room.
“Oh yeah, always,” Thomas said. “Whenever you see moves like that, it always resonates. It’s unfortunate it happened, but now that it’s happened, guys see it and have got to be ready to move on. We wish the best for Rabbit.”
A solemn Alec Ogletree was at a loss for words over the situation, just telling reporters that he “hates” what happened.
“We all love Rabbit,” Ogletree said, via NJ Advance Media. “And have a lot of respect for what he does. [You] hate to see something like that and hate that he’s no longer with us. I hate this whole situation.”
Interestingly, the man likely to replace Jenkins as the team’s starter — rookie DeAndre Baker — declined to comment on the situation despite a pool of reporters peppering him with questions.
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