Credit: Bleav in Giants
By Sean Keeley on

The New York Giants are down bad, and the frustration on the field has boiled over, creating tensions among their media members.

The Giants dropped to 0-3 on the season Sunday night and, by all accounts, seem likely to end up with a record similar to last year’s 3-14.

Following Sunday’s 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, MSG Networks analyst Shaun O’Hara made his pitch for why fans shouldn’t give up on the squad despite the ongoing lack of success.

“The Giants, right now, could very well be 2-1,” said O’Hara, standing next to fellow former Giants star Carl Banks. “So this is not a bad team. So for those of you who are walking out of the stadium right now or you’re watching the game at home… this is a different team. This team is better. They’re just not finding ways to win.”

A noble sentiment, but not one that sat well with Bobby Skinner, host of the Giants Nation Show podcast. He shared that clip on X Sunday night and quoted it by saying, “[Giants owner] John Mara, please stop making my childhood heroes have to say this stupid sh*t.”

“Its not their fault, they played great ball and had great careers for the Giants,” he added. “They got media jobs for the Giants after that which is the dream but this trash ass team puts out trash every single year.”

Banks caught wind of Skinner’s post and responded, saying that he didn’t appreciate that the clip lacked the full context from the conversation.

“You should post the pest (sic) of what we said Bobby,” wrote Banks. “I have too much respect for what you do to think that you’re grandstanding for clicks and I know that you are capable of complex thoughts. So please watch and or post the rest of what was said.”

Skinner did share a longer part of that discussion, though he didn’t feel that doing so added much context.

“I’m not blaming Shaun,” Skinner wrote. “I’m blaming the Giants for putting out a product like this that Shaun & yourself have to do a post game show for. I know the off air conversations are different!”

“Nah, just more ‘Stupid Sh*t’ that you chose not to include in your initial post,” responded Banks in a quoted post.

Along with his work on MSG Networks, Banks also co-hosts the Bleav in Giants podcast alongside announcer Bob Papa. In Monday’s episode, he delved into why the selective comments bothered him so much and how he refutes the notion that he and O’Hara are mouthpieces for the franchise.

“I was on the postgame show with Shaun and Madelyne,” said Banks.”Shaun made the point that this team could easily be two and one. They could be. Then he said they were a good team. Well, I’m not going to speak for him, but I know he wasn’t talking in the context of ‘They’re so good that they can get it together.’ We went on, if you listened to the show, we went on to talk about all the things why they are 0 and 3. But if you can say they could be two and one, and here are the reasons why, it’s okay.

“I took issue with Bobby Skinner because he took part of a clip and said, ‘John Mara, stop making my childhood heroes do this shit.’ I was like, ‘Let’s not do that.’ I respect his platform too much for that to be a cheap rage-baiter. Just post it all if you’re going to post it, and you can like it or not like it. Nobody has a gun to our head. We’re giving observations based on 40 years of freaking experience, game planning, and playing. If he’s giving you a point of view that he’s sharing as basically from a player perspective, because Brian Burns said the same thing. That’s what he’s given. But if he left it there, full stop, then you should have a problem with it. But he went on to talk about every reason why they are not two and one. I went on and gave you every reason why they’re not two and one.

“Bobby, I get it, but there are a lot of people who will not, they will look at your clip and it becomes, that’s it. You saw the whole clip, so you know what it is. Look, I’m not here to beef with anybody. People can do whatever the hell they want, but I don’t delete anything for a reason. So once this group of people starts coming with this nonsense, all I’m going to say is just go look at the whole thing. Listen to our broadcast.”

Banks and Papa listened to the clip that Skinner posted, and then Papa tried to offer the sentiment that fans are rightfully frustrated with the state of the franchise, which Banks agreed with. However, he drew the line at what he considered to be his thoughts being taken out of context and misrepresented as propaganda, rather than honest analysis.

“I speak it the way I see it, the way I lived it,” said Banks. “Do what you want, say what you want. Just don’t edit my sh*t as if the rest of it didn’t exist. All right, now, whenever I say what I said, if you’re not complex enough to think or to think about what I said or hear what I said, I’m okay with that. But if I can sit on that very same show and say that the offense could not figure out how to scheme their wide receiver was open, and I say it in this tone, and Lawrence Tynes’ mother fucks the team, y’all feel better about him saying it, but we’re both saying the same thing. We’re both saying that the offense, there’s no way they should not be able to figure out a two-shell and get their best players open.

“I said it all during the broadcast, and I said it on that very same show. So this ain’t sugar coating anything. You don’t like my delivery. You want to be screamed at by somebody? Then f*cking watch them. But what I’m saying, I’m going to say, and I am no happier about this team where they are now than anybody.”

Banks then followed up that show by returning to X to argue with just about anyone who wanted to offer further opinions on the matter. Skinner, meanwhile, remained defiant.

Things don’t look like they’re going to get much better for the Giants anytime soon. Hence, the frustrations between media members, podcasters, and fans are likely to remain just as fraught, especially as blame gets tossed around more frequently. Banks seems OK with that, so long as his full thoughts are on the record.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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