Surprisingly, New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has become the story of the 2026 NFL offseason. Particularly among some commentators or media members who have a specific political association that heavily impacts their feelings toward certain athletes.
Dart introduced President Donald Trump at a recent rally, giving a mostly unremarkable, brief speech. And in doing so, set off a firestorm of criticism. Criticism that is rarely levied at athletes who speak out in favor of left-wing politicians.
For example, former player and current NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho said it was "pretty stupid" for Dart to introduce Trump. It's impossible to believe that Dart would receive the same criticism if he introduced Barack Obama, Joe Biden, or Kamala Harris.
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Well, add former ESPN commentator Bomani Jones to the list of commentators who have jumped in to criticize Dart while ignoring other athletes' political endorsement.
"This idea that we don't care about the politics of athletes...yes, we do," Jones said in a recent episode of his "The Right Time with Bomani Jones" show. "Now, whether you care enough about the politics that it affects whether or not you root for them on your team, that becomes a different situation and that becomes just a little bit tricky. Like, will you, if you are a Giants fan, will you stop rooting for the Giants because Jaxson Dart is a Trumper? Probably not. But don't tell me you don't care."
He continued by saying he doubts it'll "fracture" the Giants' locker room, despite Abdul Carter's comments.
"What struck me about this — and I also want to be clear about this — the whole 'this is going to fracture the locker room' thing. NFL locker rooms are wild, segregated, and full of white players who support Trump and black players who support Trump. Okay, that is no revolutionary rule. That's not how the NFL works."
GIANTS STAR ABDUL CARTER TAKES ISSUE WITH TEAMMATE JAXSON DART INTRODUCING TRUMP AT NEW YORK RALLY
But Jones then goes after Dart by implying he's "embarrassing" other players and that "standing" with Trump is an outsized offense compared to other politicians.
"...And this is what I'm saying to Jaxson Dart: 'Take that monkey s--- off. You embarrassing us,'" Jones said. "And what I'm talking about is this, you in here, think about all the love that he got for them chains when he out here doing dances and all of this stuff. I guarantee you it's a few cats in there that was like, 'Oh, he cool.'
"I do think that it is important to note that Trump is not the same as any other politician. Like, standing with Trump, and people having a problem with it is not just, 'I disagree with your politics.' Somebody went up there and stood with Curtis Sliwa during the mayoral election...it's not going to be a thing. This is very particularly about this very particular man."
That's the problem. Left-wing commentators, like Bomani Jones, treat Trump as though he is an unimaginable evil. Then create rules around behavior based on their wildly inaccurate opinions. While also ignoring that the left also compared Mitt Romney, a very moderate Republican figure, to Hitler. Of course Dart would receive criticism from sports media for introducing any right-wing politician, because sports media is dominated by the political left and they do not tolerate opposition.
Jones would never criticize Abdul Carter, to use a relevant example, for joining Kamala Harris on stage. Because he supports Kamala Harris and views her policies and positions as reasonable and necessary. He refuses to accept that a sizable portion of the United States feels the same way about Trump's policies and positions. Dart must be chastised, because Trump is uniquely unacceptable. Even though just a year and a half ago, he won the popular vote and carried 31 of the 50 states.
Harris is not uniquely unacceptable to Jones, so therefore she is not divisive. It's predictable, ridiculous, and absurd. In short, it's the perfect example of modern left-wing sports commentary.
