Giants cornerback Eli Apple has been suspended for the final week of the season for “detrimental” behavior, according to a statement released by the team today.
“We have suspended Eli for a pattern of behavior that is conduct detrimental to the team,” general manager Kevin Abrams said.
The decision comes after a season of reported locker room discord and a recent beef with teammate Landon Collins who called Apple “a cancer” during a radio interview. Collins later apologized. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo said this about Collins’s remarks, according to the team report.
“(Landon and I) had a quick conversation this morning and then I had a quick conversation with Eli. And then all three of us had a really good conversation and it was very productive and I’ll just leave it at that. It’s between them and they were really great.”
Earlier today, the New York Daily News reported that, before Apple was suspended, he said, “I gotta take a shit” and laughed as he walked away from reporters after a media session.
The Collins drama seems settled according to Spagnuolo, so either there’s more Apple-related locker room friction (possible, given Apple was benched for four consecutive games this season for undisclosed reasons) or the Giants really don’t like players discussing their bowel movements. Either way, both things probably would’ve been overlooked if Apple had defended more than eight passes over 11 games en route to his team’s 2-13 record.