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05/29 15:38 CDT Giants' Abdul Carter felt the need to call out Jaxson Dart to show he is against Donald Trump Giants' Abdul Carter felt the need to call out Jaxson Dart to show he is against Donald Trump By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Abdul Carter embraced Jaxson Dart after the New York Giants quarterback read a statement about his decision to introduce President Donald Trump at a rally last week. Then the young linebacker offered a rebuke of his teammate. Carter called the situation "bigger than football" and explained he felt the need to call out Dart publicly for the decision. "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," Carter said Friday after an offseason workout practice. "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." Carter took to social media on Saturday to criticize his teammate after realizing a video of Dart on stage with Trump was real. Hours later, Carter said he and Dart spoke and were fine. Those posts have since been deleted. "It doesn't mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef," Carter said. "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, then I feel like that's all that matters." Dart in his 562-word statement never invoked Trump's name and said he valued the office of the president. Dart called it "a unique opportunity, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the president of the United States." Asked if he understood why the situation might bother teammates and if he thought he made a mistake, Dart referred back to his statement. Carter said Dart did not apologize for being at Trump's event. "I don't want him to say he's sorry," Carter said. "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." Dart said he addressed the situation with teammates, including Carter, as part of "honest conversations" over the past week. That included a meeting at the Giants' facility Tuesday when Carter was not present, as well as a conversation Saturday between the two players going into their second NFL season. "We just talked," Dart said of Carter, who was also drafted in the first round last year. "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." Coach John Harbaugh and veteran backup quarterback Jameis Winston attempted to put a positive spin on going through the situation at a tense time in the U.S. "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," said Winston, who is also Black. "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." Harbaugh expressed no concerns about a rift in the locker room and said "it's not going to affect what kind of football team we are." "I think it's made us better, honestly," Harbaugh said. "I'm kind of grateful for the opportunity that we had to have the conversation. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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