The Giants don’t seem to be apologetic about hazing Prince Amukamara, they’re just sorry that their private locker room behavior became public.
“None of us condone bullying,” defensive end Justin Tuck told the media on Monday. “We just have to do a better job of being conscious of how that looks and how people can perceive it.”
Tuck then defended the hazing, suggesting it was done out of love.
“We’re a family. Everyone loves everyone. We love Prince. It’s part of the rituals and traditions of a football team in the locker room,” Tuck said. “I would love to say it was really not that big of a deal, but there’s some people that don’t understand what goes on on a football team. We’re definitely sensitive to that and understand other peoples’ concerns about it.
“If anything, it shows just how tight of a group we are. It’s just part of doing your dues. We’ve all been through it — I’ve been dunked in the cold tub when I was a rookie. It’s just unfortunate that it’s looked upon as it happened.”
Once again, Tuck isn’t apologizing for the Giants hazing each other, he’s just sorry others are seeing it.
“No one really understands the culture in this locker room and in locker rooms around the country unless you’ve been in one. I can see how people outside of this locker room can take it in a negative light, and it’s for good reason. I definitely see both sides of it and wish that everyone will know we’re going to do our part to make sure nothing like this happens again.”
I played athletics throughout high school and understand that this type of hazing is prevalent. I never really understood how tossing a younger player into the cold tub or shower made the team better or more tight-knit, so I never participated in that sort of thing and tried discouraging it. But some players really got off on showing their dominance over others, and they loved doing it. That’s the type of culture to which Tuck is referring.
I’m not a fan of hazing, I don’t really understand the point of it, and that’s not my deal. But it’s hard for outsiders to really say anything to a professional football team about the way they should behave in their locker room. As long as there isn’t any ookie cookie nonsense going on, there probably isn’t too much to fuss over.
