Jaxson Dart, the 23-year-old quarterback for the New York Giants, introduced former President Donald Trump at a rally outside New York City in late July 2026 [1]. Dart's public appearance sparked backlash from fans and teammates, notably defensive lineman Abdul Carter, who criticized Dart's involvement [2, 1].
In response to the volume of reactions, Dart disabled comments on his Instagram account by August 1 to limit online criticism [2]. The next day, he addressed his Giants teammates, emphasizing, "I love every single one of my teammates regardless of politics," highlighting his call for unity within the team despite differing beliefs [2].
Abdul Carter later reconciled with Dart, and the two were seen publicly hugging on August 3. 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 added, "We shared a lot of very similar experiences. We've experienced adversity... and had to have each other's backs and that's exactly what we continued to do today." [1]
Donald Trump used his meeting with Dart on August 20 to criticize transgender women competing in women's sports, joking about Dart's athleticism: "He's a big, strong guy, and I said, 'How do you think you'd do at women's sports?' And he said, 'Pretty good, sir.' He didn't know I was joking. He would have been the greatest athlete in the history of women's sports." [1]
Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning weighed in on athlete political expression, saying, "Athletes should be allowed to do it if they feel strong about politics or supporting someone, that's fine. You just have to understand that there's going to be teammates, fans and people that are going to think different about that." He added, "Hopefully it doesn't create friction and a divide amongst the team, hopefully it creates great conversation and brings a team together. You might not agree with everybody and their beliefs... but you can still work together and trust each other and compete together." [2]
Manning noted he avoided public political statements during his career to protect his endorsement deals [2].
The Supreme Court is expected to rule later this month on cases involving transgender athletes in women's sports, a topic sparking considerable debate including Trump's recent comments [1].
