Tag: Pat Hanlon

Giants players, radio announcer escape Mall of America shooting

Members of the New York Giants were believed to have been in the Mall of America on Friday night when shots rang out but are “accounted for.”

A shooting at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota left a 19-year-old dead and many others in fear on Friday night.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges told the Associated Press that an altercation between two groups preceded the shooting and that a bystander had also been grazed by a bullet.

The New York Giants, who traveled to Minneapolis on Friday ahead of their Week 16 game against the Minnesota Vikings, are staying at a hotel adjacent to the mall. Several of their players were believed to have been in the mall at the time of the shooting.

“Everyone is back in the hotel and accounted for now,” Giants executive vice president of communications Pat Hanlon told the AP.

Long-time Giants play-by-play announcer, Bob Papa, was also in the mall at the time of the shooting. He sent a series of tweets during the chaos.

General manager Joe Schoen may have also been in the mall at the time of the shooting and worked with team security to account for all of the players during the mall lockdown.

The suspect(s) remain at large.

The thoughts and prayers of Giants Nation go out to the victim, his family, and his friends.

Follow the Giants Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Giants’ Pat Hanlon rips ex-scout Steve Verderosa

New York Giants senior VP of communications Pat Hanlon took aim at ex-scout Steve Verderosa on Tuesday following some critical tweets.

Former New York Giants scout Steve Verderosa, who was fired by the team in 2020 after several decades of service, warned against the potential promotion of assistant general manager Kevin Abrams earlier this week.

“Kevin has been the one negotiating the bad signings (Nate Solder, Kenny Golladay, etc.). He is not a football guy — never played, coached or scouted. Need a football guy!” Verderosa tweeted.

It was just the latest of several critical takes on the Giants and their executives that Verderosa has shared in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, Giants senior vice president of communications Pat Hanlon had finally heard enough. He shot back at Verderosa in a series of tweets that seemed to indicate there had been a major falling out.

Although Hanlon tweeted Verderosa directly, the former scout did not reply directly. Instead, he sent out a standalone tweet.

Hanlon has never been shy about sharing his two cents and will chime in when he feels it’s necessary. In this case, he clearly felt Verderosa had some ulterior motives and wasn’t going to let the criticism go unchecked.

Still, with the Giants down and out bad, this sort of public exchange does not reflect well. And with another season circling the drain, optics are really all that’s left in East Rutherford.

It’s just been that kind of year for the Giants. And when we say “year,” we really mean “decade.”

[listicle id=681664]

Giants shuffle communications department

The New York Giants have made a few changes to their communications department, including the promotion of Jen Escalante.

The New York Giants announced a few changes to their communications department on Tuesday, including the promotion of Jen Escalante to vice president of strategic communications. She had previously worked as a director in corporate and football communications.

The Giants say Jen will continue to contribute to the Giants’ football communications in her new role.

Meanwhile, the Giants also announced that Dion Dargin is now the director of football communications and will handle “day-to-day responsibilities of the team’s football communications.”

Finally, Maddi Harris has been hired as the team’s communications coordinator.

Pat Hanlon, who has been with the Giants for nearly 29 years, will continue to serve as the team’s senior vice president of communications.

[vertical-gallery id=670877]

NFL teams will begin reopening facilities, but Giants will not be among them

The New York Giants will not be among the NFL teams reopening their facilities due to State and county regulations.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to all 32 teams on Friday granting them permission to reopen facilities, provided State and county regulations allow it.

In the memo, Goodell said that facilities will open in phases with the first allowing injured players back to rehab. Other coaches and players will not yet be permitted at team facilities, and no team is permitted to hold minicamps or OTAs.

Despite the first step towards reopening, the New York Giants will not be among the teams returning.

“It takes more time than four days to reopen a facility that has been shut down for two months. We are subject to state regulations,” Giants senior vice president of communications Pat Hanlon told NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Network on Friday night. “Bottom line, when we are cleared on all fronts to go back, we will, in an orderly, systematic, safe way to protect those in our building. It has been a process and protocol we have been developing for the last month or two.”

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy recently extended the state’s public health emergency to June 6, which means the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford will remain closed for at least another three weeks.

The Giants closed their facilities on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but employees of the team have been working remotely since. They have also held a virtual offseason program for the past three weeks via video conferencing, including a voluntary three-day minicamp.

[lawrence-related id=647460,647437,647427]