Cam Newton hits back against Giants fans hating on Saquon Barkley
Former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton scolded Giants fans for their angry response toward Saquon Barkley after Sunday's loss to the Eagles. Newton made the comments during his weekly "4th&1 with Cam Newton" podcast.
He said:
“Don’t hate the player, hate the person who put the player in the position to have to make a decision like this.”
Newton was referring to the Giants' decision to not resign Barkley and let him go into free agency, where he quickly signed with the Eagles.
Unfortunately for the Giants, the game ended 28-3 in favor of the Eagles. However, the result didn’t seem to matter to some fans, who were more focused on booing the former Giants star.
Giants' fans show their anger towards Saquon Barkley
Some attended wearing his jersey, only to burn it later, and one fan even wrote “F*** Barkley” on his jersey to express his disgust.
As soon as Barkley was spotted on the field at MetLife Stadium, fans began booing him from the stands, some even started before that, arriving at the game in the modified jerseys. Former Eagles center Jason Kelce, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share his thoughts:
“For the life of me, I don’t understand why Giants fans hate Saquon for what happened and not the Giants organization for the fact that he’s now an Eagle.”
Kelce was blunt in defending Barkley and criticized the Giants franchise for letting him go. Barkley joined the Eagles this offseason on a three-year, $37.5 million deal.
Cam Newton calls the Giants a "sh** franchise"
Newton echoed the sentiment, questioning the Giants’ decision to let one of the best players leave and advocating for Barkley while calling the Giants a “sh** franchise.” He also believes fans’ anger toward Barkley is misplaced. Newton explained that the Giants may have let go of a key player around whom a stronger team could have been built. Now, the consequences of that decision have arrived as the team languishes at the bottom of the division.
However, fans have their reasons for booing Barkley, as reflected in the comments section of Jason Kelce’s post. First, Barkley chose to join the Eagles, despite knowing about the longstanding rivalry. Second, he left when the Giants were in a rebuilding phase.
Barkley, for his part, defends his decision. He was released by his former team due to injury concerns and age. When a strong, well-performing franchise offered him a lucrative contract, he couldn’t refuse. Barkley left his mark on Sunday’s game, rushing for 176 yards and scoring three touchdowns.