NFL kickers face an immense quantity of stress, typically known as upon within the recreation’s most important moments, the place they alone can decide whether or not their group wins or loses.
In consequence, they typically catch the ire of indignant followers, and as New York Giants kicker Graham Gano revealed, they’ll generally go approach too far.
“I hear everybody else’s frustration — media, followers. Shoot, ever since sports activities betting began occurring, I get individuals telling me to kill myself each week,” Gano, 38, informed ESPN in a narrative revealed Thursday, November 6. “‘Trigger I’ll hit a kick that loses them cash. I’ll miss a kick and it loses them cash. It was the opposite day that somebody informed me to get most cancers and die. I imply, that stuff is a part of it.”
Gano has been sidelined with a neck damage that can hold him out of the Giants’ recreation on Sunday towards the Chicago Bears.
“Simply enjoying this lengthy, you’re used to it by now. However with that being mentioned, I see everybody’s frustration,” he continued. “And I’m annoyed too. I simply need to play ball. Simply continuously not having the ability to is hard. Doing all the pieces I can to attempt to come again and play. That’s my hope.”
ESPN reviews that the Giants and NFL safety have been monitoring threats made towards Gano in accordance with league security protocols. Nonetheless, it’s exhausting for the veteran out of Florida State to dam all of it out.
“No person desires to listen to that stuff,” he mentioned. “I believe everybody within the locker room is aware of if in case you have one thing occurring to speak to someone about it. I hope that everyone in right here would. No person desires to listen to stuff like that. I simply need to make the followers comfortable, assist the group win video games and so not having the ability to do that’s exhausting.”
He added, “I actually don’t reply. I strive to not see as a lot as I can. If I begin seeing that stuff, I simply shut it off. Sadly, that’s a part of the sport. Lots of people will ship you stuff like that. I’ll get letters, I’ll get followers telling me that stuff to my face recreation days, the DMs. I hear [similar stories] from different guys on the group too. It’s powerful. Particularly these days [with] psychological well being.”
Gano’s admission comes a day after Dallas Cowboys defensive finish Marshawn Kneeland died by obvious suicide, following a police pursuit. His girlfriend informed police that night time that he had expressed suicidal ideation, and he reportedly texted his household to say goodbye.
“This can be a ache you don’t want upon anyone,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott informed CBS Sports activities Texas on Thursday. “You would like none of us needed to undergo this. You would like Marshawn didn’t must undergo what he went via.”
Nebraska soccer coach Matt Rhule added in his weekly media availability that followers ought to do not forget that they by no means know what a participant goes via off the sector.
“I believe all of us needs to be cautious about what we are saying to individuals,” he mentioned. “I believe we needs to be cautious about what we tweet about individuals. I believe we needs to be cognizant of what everybody’s going via.”
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