Martindale: McKinney's comments 'hurt' Giants' locker room
New York Giants defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale said Thursday that he was caught off guard by defensive back Xavier McKinney's comments criticizing the team's defense after their 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
"It surprised me because it's the first time it's ever happened in my career that a player would make a statement like that," the 60-year-old Martindale said, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "I think it was a case of the kid is just frustrated from losing. We spoke. We cleared it up. The example that he gave me of what he was talking about was an in-game adjustment."
McKinney, a team captain, voiced his frustration regarding the Martindale-led defensive unit on Sunday after the blowout defeat that dropped the Giants to 2-7 this season.
"From a leadership standpoint, I don't think they've done a great job of letting the leaders lead and listening to the leaders and the captains," McKinney said after Week 9, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "It was one of those things where you have some of your leaders, captains from a defensive standpoint, trying to switch things up. And just not really being heard."
Martindale said Thursday he told McKinney comments like that hurt the locker room.
"It really took a while for him to point out exactly what it was," he said. "But I think you grow from that, and I just told him that is something that, it hurts the locker room. It hurts the defensive room when you say something like that."
"When you make a statement like that, it puts money in your pockets and takes it out of ours. Talking about the media. You just have to understand that it was an emotional thing right after the game," Martindale added, per Alper.
After making the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record last season, the Giants have been one of the NFL's most disappointing teams in 2023. New York ranks dead last in points scored and 24th in points allowed.
McKinney, a 2020 second-round pick, has racked up 53 tackles and six pass breakups in nine starts this year. His rookie contract expires at the end of the season.
Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.