One would be hard-pressed to find a more intellectually lazy response to the Jaxson Dart-President Trump-Abdul Carter “controversy” than the one former television host Jemele Hill just offered.
First, the background:
Dart, the New York Giants’ starting quarterback, introduced President Donald Trump before a speech in Suffern, New York, on Friday.
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“Big Blue Nation, it’s a pleasure to be here. I got to start this off with a ‘Go Big Blue,’” Dart said.
“What an honor, what a privilege it is to be here, and without further ado, I’m grateful, I’m honored, I’m pleased to introduce the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump.”
Dart’s teammate, Abdul Carter, reposted the video and appeared to criticize the introduction.
“Thought this s—t was AI, what we doing man,” Carter wrote.
Any honest observer can see the situation for what it is: A player introduced the president at an event in the city where he plays, and one of his teammates publicly criticized him for it.
Yet Jemele Hill somehow turned the episode into something else entirely.
On Saturday, Hill defended Carter after former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes explained why publicly targeting a teammate is frowned upon inside an NFL locker room.
“The locker room is a sacred place because it brings together everyone from all walks of life and beliefs for one common goal,” Tynes posted on X. “Calling a teammate out publicly for his political views and to get attention is nasty work.”
Hill responded by framing Tynes’ comment as an attempt to silence Carter.
“So Jaxson Dart gets to publicly express his political beliefs, but Abdul Carter doesn’t? If this is about locker room sanctity and leadership, is it a good idea for the face of the franchise to attend a political rally for a president that is considered to be hugely divisive?” Hill asked.
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Of course, Hill then worked the race card into her argument:
“Let’s not do that thing where we’re trying to pretend this isn’t what it looks like,” Hill added. “Abdul Carter is a black man and a Muslim and given the things that Trump has said about/done when it comes to both groups, it’s fair and also not surprising that he has a problem with it.”
Uh, what?
First, describing this as two teammates merely “expressing political beliefs” is not accurate.
Dart did not make a political statement. He introduced the sitting President of the United States at an event. He didn’t endorse Trump or advocate for legislation. His actions were neither political nor partisan, but patriotic. There’s a difference.
By Hill’s logic, every athlete who shook hands with Barack Obama at the NBA All-Star Game in February also made a political declaration. Note: She had no issue with that.
More importantly, the criticism of Carter has little to do with his apparent dislike of Trump. As Tynes noted, the issue is that Carter chose to embarrass a teammate publicly rather than handle the matter privately.
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He could have texted Dart. Called him. Spoken to him face-to-face. Instead, he posted about it on social media, creating an avoidable distraction for the Giants heading into offseason activities and forcing the organization to deal with internal division over a holiday weekend.
Hill should understand that distinction better than most. She has worked at several major media companies. If employee X appears alongside a political figure, employee Y does not suddenly receive a license to condemn that colleague online.
Of course, Hill’s views of employees X and Y would likely depend entirely on their skin colors and political affiliations.
That brings us to her second argument.
Hill tried to justify Carter’s behavior by emphasizing that he is black and Muslim, two groups she claims Trump has targeted through his rhetoric and policies.
At this point, you likely wonder what exactly Trump has done or said negatively toward Black people and Muslims. We wondered the same thing and asked Hill that question on X. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t bother to explain.
Take skin color and politics out of it. Jaxson Dart did nothing wrong. He introduced the president on his own time. He didn’t make a political statement on the field, as Colin Kaepernick did. He didn’t spread incendiary propaganda on social media, as other NFL players have. He simply welcomed the president onto a stage.
For all we know, Dart would have done the same if a Democrat were in office.
It was Abdul Carter who allowed his political beliefs to influence his decision-making. He is the one who turned this into a problem for the team.
As OutKick founder Clay Travis pointed out, the hypocrisy surrounding the outrage is also amusing.
“In the NFL no one Tweets if you beat a woman, but don’t you DARE speak at an event when you’re invited by the president of the United States,” Travis wrote.
Indeed.
No one in the NFL tweets about the players who commit violent crimes or are arrested for reckless driving incidents, either.
Finally, Hill and Carter may want to direct some of that outrage toward another figure closely tied to the Giants organization.
Carter has openly described Giants legend Lawrence Taylor as his idol. He even requested Taylor’s retired number after being drafted. What Carter may not realize is that Taylor endorsed Trump in 2024 and now serves on Trump’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
Awkward, no?
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But seriously, how great was Jemele Hill defaulting to race once her original argument fell apart? It seems to happen every time she engages in a viral debate.
Beyond her racial idolatry, Hill has nothing of substance to add to the conversation. We saw that again, this time in her defense of Abdul Carter.
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