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Did Eli Apple do anything wrong? We take a look at the New York Giants cornerback’s recent conduct and try to answer that question.
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Who is Eli Apple?
Eli Apple is a cornerback for the New York Giants. He was drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State.
What did Eli Apple do?
Eli Apple is an American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Panthers in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
The first incident
The first incident happened on October 10, 2016, when Apple was caught on camera by SNY’s cameras arguing with then-teammates Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz during a game against the Los Angeles Rams. Beckham can be seen gesturing toward Apple and yelling at him multiple times during the game.
After the game, Beckham said that he was “just trying to get [Apple] to understand what we see from the sideline,” while Apple explained that Beckham and Cruz were “just messing around.” Head coach Ben McAdoo downplayed the incident, saying that “Eli is a grown man” and “can handle himself.”
The second incident happened on November 20, 2016, when an audio recording of a conversation between Apple and Giants’ head coach Ben McAdoo was leaked to the media. In the recording, which was apparently made during a film session, McAdoo can be heard scolding Apple for not being “mentally tough” enough to handle criticism from teammates.
Apple denied that there was any truth to what McAdoo said about him, and claimed that the coach’s words were taken out of context. Giants’ safety Landon Collins also came to Apple’s defense, saying that he didn’t think Apple was “a quitter.”
The third incident occurred on December 11, 2016, when reporters overheard Apple arguing with members of the Giants’ coaching staff during practice. After practice ended, Apple refused to answer any questions from reporters about what had happened.
The fourth and final incident happened on December 18, 2016, when radio host Mike Francesa called out Apple for not being present at a meeting between Giants’ players and head coach Ben McAdoo. Francesa said that it was “unacceptable” for Apple to miss the meeting, especially considering all of the off-field drama he had been involved in recently.
Apple responded to Francesa’s comments by saying that he had been dealing with personal issues and had excused himself from the meeting so that he could attend to them. He also said that he didn’t appreciate being singled out by Francesa or anyone else.
The second incident
The second incident occurred in October, when a video leaked of a Giants’ team meeting. Head coach Ben McAdoo was shown giving a speech in which he called 2017 “a dirty-ass year,” and said the team needed to be “all in” going forward. In the background, Apple can be seen laughing and apparently not paying attention to the coach’s speech.
The third incident
The third incident happened in the locker room, when DJ Humphries and another player were talking about a recent trip to a strip club. Eli said he didn’t want to go because he knew “they only had white girls.” This comment made the other player extremely uncomfortable, and he asked Eli to leave the area.
How did the Giants react to Eli Apple’s actions?
The New York Giants have suspended cornerback Eli Apple for the final week of the regular season. The suspension comes after Apple argued with coaches during Sunday’s game and later had a confrontation with a team staffer.
Apple, who was the 10th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, has struggled mightily this season. He was benched in Week 12 and has been relegated to mostly special teams duty over the past month.
What is the future for Eli Apple with the Giants?
The New York Giants have cut Eli Apple, their former first-round pick in 2016. The move comes as a bit of a surprise because Apple was having a decent season and was just named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Apple has been plagued by injuries and off-field issues during his time with the Giants. He missed most of last season with a ankle injury and then was suspended for the final game of the season for conduct detrimental to the team. This season, he missed four games with a hamstring injury.
The Giants were hoping that Apple would develop into a shutdown corner, but it never happened. He struggled with inconsistency and was often beaten by opposing receivers. Apple finishes his time with the Giants with 45 tackles, one interception, and six pass breakups in 16 career games.
