The New York Giants have avoided talking about Steve Tisch’s involvement in the Epstein files, but Mike Francesa doesn’t believe they’ll be able to keep running forever.
Tisch, a film producer whose family owns 45 percent of the Giants, emerged in the Epstein files that were released last month. In the wake of his name being mentioned in connection to Jeffrey Epstein, the Giants co-owner responded by issuing a statement to downplay their relationship, claiming, “We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments.” But according to The Athletic, Tisch met Epstein after he was already registered as the highest level of sex offender.
Despite the disturbing details, the Giants, which are also co-owned by the Mara family, have leaned on Tisch’s statement and attempted to avoid bringing any added attention to the matter.
On the latest episode of The Mike Francesa Podcast, the former WFAN host was asked whether the Giants could see an ownership change in the future. And while discussing the franchise’s future, Francesa noted Tisch’s connection to Epstein will eventually need to be addressed.
“We know that Tisch is in this complete Epstein mess, and they’ve run and hid from it so far, which they’re not gonna be able to do forever,” Francesa said. “That’s not over with yet. And I think the people who think that it’s gonna go away now because of the war or anything else, I don’t think it’s going away. I don’t believe that. Enough people are annoyed about it that it’s not going away. The Giants will eventually have to, and Tisch will eventually have to own up to it in some way. Does that make the Tisch family get out of the Giants? I don’t know that.”
Tisch might not face legal action based on the information reported so far. But after having such a close association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, it’s fair to question whether he deserves the privilege of being an NFL owner. Similarly, it’s fair to question whether the New York Giants can trust Tisch’s judgment enough to have him continue in his role as chairman and executive vice president of the team.
No entity is better at quashing negative stories than the NFL. But the Giants haven’t quashed this looming controversy, they’ve just hid from it. And at some point, the organization should be forced to address the fact that one of its owners was involved with one of the most prolific sex offenders and traffickers in history.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com