Jaxson Dart on introducing President Trump: "This was a unique opportunity"

Player mentions

Article text

Last Friday, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart introduced President Donald Trump at a rally in New York. This Friday, Dart met with reporters. Following a Saturday dustup on social media sparked by linebacker Abdul Carter and a Wednesday team meeting, Dart made an opening statement that lasted more than four minutes. Here's the full content of his statement , as posted by Jordan Raanan of ESPN: "This was a unique opportunity. You know, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the President of the United States, you know, my thinking was pretty simple. And the fact of, you know, 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. And I have a great grandfather who served as Secretary of Treasury at some point. So the president position has always been a position that I have always respected, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party, and 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. It's under a limelight, under a microscope, and there's a lot that comes with that, and it's been something that I've embraced. "I've loved being here. I love the city of New York. I love the city [sic] 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, people in this organization, my teammates, the staff, coaches, everybody that has a hand . . . you name it. You know, I've loved making relationships with them and growing connections. And that's kind of a person that I am. I'm a connector. I love making relationships with people. I love hearing everybody's stories. And being somebody who, you know, 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. Like, I love them and they know exactly what kind of person that I am, who comes into the facility every day. . . . I lay my body on the line for my guys each and every week. And it's from the connections that we build, 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, you know, 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 you get to be together. "I think that the connections that we build are special, because, you know, 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. And, you know, 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, you know, 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, and obviously we understand the biggest goal is to be the best team that we can be, to put ourselves in the best position to succeed, to chase…