Annie Apple, the mother of New York Giants cornerback Eli, has been outspoken regarding the way the team dealt with former kicker Josh Brown in the face of revelations that the kicker has a history of domestic abuse.
On Nov. 4, Eli admitted that his mother—who is a contributor to Sports Illustrated and ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown—has made him feel a "little awkward" since she has published content denouncing the way the Giants and owner John Mara failed to swiftly address Brown's status with the team after documents were revealed in which the kicker privately admitted to abusing his wife.
"It's definitely a weird position, of course. You want to just focus on football and have football be your main focus," Eli said, according to ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan. "Sometimes when things like this come up, it makes it a little bit hard because you're thinking about it a little bit. But you just have to move on from it, talk to her a little bit and try to speak your mind a little bit and move forward."
He was benched against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday because of poor performance, which he says was not the result of any distraction his mother may have caused heading into the game, per the New York Daily News' Pat Leonard:
Apple said it was the first time in his football career he’s been sidelined because of his performance. He was adamant, however, that his mother "wasn’t a distraction."
"It was not like that. It was on me," Apple said. "Just sometimes you’re out there just trying to do too much and thinking too much. It’s a good learning experience, so I’m going to get through it."
In piece for Sports Illustrated on Nov. 2, Annie admitted that while she recently flew to London for the Giants' game against the Los Angeles Rams, she did not attend because of front office misconduct.
"At that moment I just couldn’t cheer for a team I felt had turned its back on what was right to protect an image," she wrote. "It was difficult because I love my son and I’ve always been in his corner at every game, but for me, this was bigger than a game."
Three days before the Giants and Rams battled at Twickenham Stadium, Annie tweeted that she was a domestic violence survivor in a long discussion condemning Giants management:
Annie Apple @SurvivinAmericaAs a domestic violence survivor, reading these Mara comments makes me sad, angry and completely baffled. He just doesn't get it. This is sad
Annie later disclosed she was not comfortable with the way the team tried to silence her through Eli: "I was livid with the Giants, not just because of John Mara’s comments but I was disappointed in the organization because I felt they were leaning heavily on a 21-year-old kid in an effort to control what his mother says."
However, Eli refuted those claims on Nov. 4.
"I'll tell her [they're not pressuring me]," he said, per Raanan.
The Giants cut Brown two days after they defeated the Rams, six days after the documents were released.
