Report: Giants upset with Eli Apple's Twitter love for Cowboys RB Rod Smith

Jason Owens
·Staff writer

Social media presents a minefield of bad ideas for pro athletes.

Cue New York Giants cornerback Eli Apple.

Apple, the 10th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, was inactive for Sunday’s matchup with the rival Dallas Cowboys, his fourth straight game on the inactive list.

Eli Apple’s social media decisions aren’t sitting well with the New York Giants (AP)
Eli Apple’s social media decisions aren’t sitting well with the New York Giants (AP)

The right move for Apple in that situation seems to be to stay quiet and support his teammates however possible.

Apple’s decision? Retweet support for Cowboys running back Rod Smith after his 81-yard touchdown run against his teammates. During the game. A decision that breaks the NFL’s social media policy along with the boundaries of common sense.

While it no longer appears on Apple’s timeline, here’s the offending tweet from an Ohio State fan site.

Apple and Smith both played at Ohio State, which explains the connection. But still.

The Giants are understandably not pleased with Apple’s decision-making and are considering discipline for the second-year cornerback, ESPN reports.

“I had a conversation with Eli about that. I was disappointed,” interim coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “I told him I was disappointed. We’ll decide exactly what we do with it.”

Report of the tweet didn’t go over well with teammates when they found out Monday.

“I didn’t know about it,” Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said when told about the tweet. “He tweeted during the game? What did he say? That is a tough one there. I don’t know. They probably have that kind of connection. But to do it during the game, that’s probably bad timing.”

Yeah, bad timing indeed.

It’s just the latest hit for Apple, who’s waste of a season mirrors overarching disfunction in New York.

He was officially inactive Sunday for not being able to practice enough with hip and back injuries. But he struggled in coverage and lost his starting job early in the season, and the Giants don’t appear in any hurry to bring him back.

This is obviously not what the Giants envisioned when they made Apple their first-round pick last year.