Jordan Raanan
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The latest in a series of injures to Graham Gano has him possibly being sidelined by a herniated disc in his back that is pressing up against his spine. It could be the least of his problems considering fans are wishing death upon the New York Giants kicker.
Gano, who has been hampered by injuries the past three seasons, revealed Thursday that he has received threats and had ill-will wished upon him over the years, including after missing a critical field goal in last Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
“I hear everyone else’s frustration – media, fans. Shoot, ever since sports betting started happening, I get people telling me to kill myself every week,” Gano said. “Cause I’ll hit a kick that loses them money. I’ll miss a kick and it loses them money. It was the other day that someone told me to get cancer and die. I mean, that stuff is part of it.
“Just playing this long, you’re used to it by now. But with that being said, I see everyone’s frustration. And I’m frustrated too. I just want to play ball. Just constantly not being able to is tough. Doing everything I can to try to come back and play. That is my hope.”
Gano, 38, is a veteran. He’s seen all different variations of threats and harassment, including letters and direct messages on social media. The Giants and NFL security have been tracking messages to Gano in accordance with safety protocols for more than three years.
They naturally have an effect, even if he tries to block it out.
“Nobody wants to hear that stuff,” Gano said. “I think everyone in the locker room knows if you have something going on to talk to somebody about it. I hope that everybody in here would. Nobody wants to hear stuff like that. I just want to make the fans happy, help the team win games and so not being able to do that is hard.”
The revelations by Gano were made after he was diagnosed with a herniated disc earlier this week. He felt some discomfort last week and thought it was simply a result of sleeping awkwardly. He went and kicked against the 49ers. The problem was exacerbated while lifting weights on Monday.
Gano did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and could miss this week’s game against the Chicago Bears. Veteran Younghoe Koo would kick in his place if Gano, who said he’s feeling better following an injection, can’t make it.
The injuries have begun to pile up for Gano in recent seasons with the Giants. He missed time in three consecutive seasons because of health problems and already had a stint on injured reserve this year because of a groin injury.
It has made Gano an easy target for angry fans.
“I really don’t respond,” he said. “I try not to see as much as I can. If I start seeing that stuff, I just shut it off. Unfortunately, that is part of the game. A lot of people will send you stuff like that. I’ll get letters, I’ll get fans telling me that stuff to my face game days, the DMs. I hear a lot of it from other guys on the team too. It’s tough. Especially nowadays [with] mental health. It’s tough but I’ve gotten thick skin over the years. Early on it really bothered you a lot.”
Gano’s comments come on a day where the NFL family learned of the apparent suicide of Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland. Gano conceded it was something that was talked about by players in the locker room on Thursday morning.
Giants coach Brian Daboll said that mental health is regularly a common topic within the organization.
“Always. I mean, we always address mental health, how important it is,” he said. “Giants director of wellness and clinical services] Dr. Lani [Lawrence], team therapist, does a great job with that.
“You all have kids or people that you’re close with. You never know what anybody’s going through. So mental health, particularly nowadays, for those of you who have kids, that raise, kids that go through a lot of different things, hear a lot of different things and read a lot of different things. It’s a lot different than when most of us were up. That’s a real thing. … That’s why you have to have people in the building, particular nowadays.”
