Of course, there’s the very sweet and good genre of fan-athlete interaction: kids meeting their heroes and melting down for lack of ability to regulate emotions. But there’s also the equally enjoyable, if perversely so, category of athletes dunking mercilessly on children.
(Recently, I enjoyed De’Aaron Fox refusing to choose a huffy camper to participate in a skills demonstration because the kid brought a Steph Curry ball to De’Aaron Fox Camp. “De’Aaron, I’ve been a longtime Kings fan for life,” the child pleads. “Your life ain’t been that long,” Fox replies. Mmm, swift and efficient.)
This young Saquon Barkley jersey-wearer was probably already not having a great day—the Cowboys seriously embarrassed the Giants Sunday—and it was surely made worse by Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence refusing his request for an autograph and telling him to “get the right jersey, son.”
Lawrence does not regret any of this in the slightest. “The kid will be okay, trust me,” he said at a (*snicker*) Boys and Girls Club of America event Tuesday night. “If not, then I’ll write a public apology to him for hurting his feelings. Other than that, hopefully he gets a DeMarcus Lawrence jersey for Christmas.”
Welcome to a sad childhood of Giants fandom, young lad. One minute, you’re blowing your Scholastic Book Fair money on picture books co-authored by Tiki and Ronde Barber (SPOILER: they harness the power of family and hard work to achieve their dreams), the next, you’re begging anyone but the Giants to sign your jersey.