Boomer Esiason, Jerome Bettis Very Much Disagree On Jaxson Dart
Two former NFL greats - Boomer Esiason and Jerome Bettis - very much disagree on Jaxson Dart's decision to introduce President Trump at a rally in New York over the weekend.
Dart, who is entering his second year, introduced President Trump, a native New Yorker, at a rally over the weekend. Dart was criticized by some for his decision - including his teammate, Abdul Carter - but Esiason stood up for the young quarterback on his radio show.
"This was a real error on the part of Abdul Carter, not on the part of Jaxson Dart," Esiason said. "Jaxson Dart was asked to introduce the President of the United States. How many people get an opportunity to do something like that, regardless of who the president is. You may have hated Barack Obama, you may have hated Joe Biden. And some guys didn't want to go to the White House because they didn't like those presidents, just like other guys didn't want to go to the White House because they didn't like President Trump."
"But to put this out like a child on social media is ridiculous. And then when I heard, ‘yea we spoke man to man,' there was only one man on that call and that was Jaxson Dart. You were a man who was late to meetings, you were a man who didn't live up to your draft choice. You're a man who wanted to wear #56, and by the way your idol #56 has introduced Donald Trump numerous times, so I don't want to hear this. He made another just boneheaded error by going to social media."
But Super Bowl champion Jerome Bettis disagrees.
Bettis believes that Dart and Carter both need to figure out how to work with one another. It's OK to disagree with your teammates.
Bettis sends message to Dart, Carter
"You don't have to agree. And that's the one thing. I mean, you don't agree with your teammate, but you got to find a way to work with them and I think that's what happens," Bettis told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
However, he doesn't think politics matter much in an NFL locker room.
"I think politics, it's always there. It's never really in the forefront in terms of sports or a locker room. So, I don't think that's ever an issue. But what you have to do is find common ground. I think that's what team sports is all about," Bettis said.
"People coming from different walks of life are all coming together for one common goal. And in order for you to all support that goal, you have to find common ground with each other."
It'll be interesting to see how the Giants handle this moving forward.
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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 2:39 PM.