Although the public's concern over a perceived hazing incident involving Prince Amukamara, several New York Giants insist throwing the second-year cornerback into a tub of ice water was a football tradition and not bullying.
Amukamara and Jason Pierre-Paul, the Pro Bowl defensive end who threw him into the ice tub, maintained Monday that they are friends and there was nothing personal involved.
Amukamara, who missed the first half of last season with a broken foot, acknowledged he was lucky that he wasn't hurt, but he was adamant that he was not the victim of hazing. He said Pierre-Paul did not owe him an apology
"I definitely think it is has (created) a lot of distractions to our team and doesn't give the professional football league, the NFL, a good look," said Amukamara, who said other players were thrown in the tub at training camp.
"Coming into the NFL, we are taught to protect the shield, and I definitely don't think that it is doing that. It is definitely a situation that we are not trying to brush under the rug. We are trying to address it, and it was just a lot of horseplay that was taken too far."
Defensive captain Jason Tuck said he paid his dues as a young player, getting dunked, buying breakfast for veterans and even picking up their laundry. He conceded it is a form of hazing, but says it's benign and not meant to inflict injury and make someone feel inferior.
Most players of the Giants seemed more concerned that punter Steve Weatherford actually posted the video, and that it might give youngsters the idea that bullying and hazing are OK.
"First of all, absolutely none of us condone bullying," Tuck said. "We've heard that. So just go ahead and put it out there. None of us condone bullying. And you don't want to put anybody in a situation where they can get hurt. With that said, we just got to do a better job of being conscious of how that looks and how people can perceive it."
Weatherford seemed to take the fallout from the videotape the hardest. He was near tears talking about it.
"It's just disappointing because I pride myself on being a good example. Obviously that was a lapse in judgment," he said. "Everyone in this locker room loves each other; we all get along great. It was simply horsing around. It wasn't perceived that way-I apologize for that. So it was a mistake on my part."
