Giants defend David Tyree despite anti-gay comments
By Josh Sanchez
The New York Giants hired former wide receiver and Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree as the team’s new director of player development earlier this week. It was a move that was highly criticized, thanks to Tyree’s history of anti-gay comments.
More from New York Giants
- Raiders: Saquon Barkley’s new contract may have screwed over Josh Jacobs
- 3 reasons the NY Giants won Saquon Barkley contract negotiations
- Saquon Barkley’s new contract is an L for NFL running backs: Best memes and tweets
- Austin Ekeler leading RB revolt with Zoom meeting of biggest names
- Giants newest WR addition feels like spray-and-pray tactic
That didn’t stop the team from making the hire, however, and now the Giants are coming to his defense.
The criticism of the hire came from Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin , who said, “The idea that someone can change their sexual orientation or gender identity is ludicrous, and the New York Giants are risking their credibility by hiring someone who publicly advocates this junk science.
“His opposition to basic legal equality aside, David Tyree’s proselytizing of such dangerous practices goes against the positive work the Giants organization has done in recent years.”
Giants general manager Jerry Reese doesn’t seem bothered by the comments, though.
Reese commented on the situation and defended Tyree by completing ignoring his publicly homophobic past.
“We do our due diligence on everyone we try and hire around here,” Reese said, via the Star-Ledger. “David was, No. 1 he was qualified, and we think he’s a terrific fit for us. We’re happy to have him on board.”
At a time when the league is trying to be more openly accepting of all lifestyles, the hire is a bit puzzling.
However, it shows that there is still a long way to go for a number of franchises around the league and it sheds some light on why a reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year slipped until the seventh-round of the draft.