The New York Giants not only opened their doors to players today, but when Chris Canty, Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs arrived at the Timex Performance Center the players were greeted by team officials and coaches — and Canty was allowed to work out. As of now, the Giants appear to be the only NFL team to allow players full access.
Via Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger, here is a statement by Giants PR Director Pat Hanlon:
“In light of last night’s ruling by Judge Nelson, we were directed by the league that if our players showed up at the Timex Performance Center today to treat them with courtesy and respect. That message, which sounds a lot like how we always treat our players, was reinforced to our staff by our ownership. As of now, three Giants players (Mario Manningham, Chris Canty and Brandon Jacobs) have shown up at Timex today, a number that is understandable given that we are all awaiting further rulings from the court and both the league and the NFLPA have indicated we need time to sort out the meaning of the current status of the litigation.”
Canty called the Giants’ organization a “class act.”
“No, there was no tension here,” he said. “I know that hasn’t exactly been the thing around the rest of the league, but coming in here it was like we never left. Coming back, coaches are very excited to have guys back in the building and we’re just excited to move forward and get back to work.”