Sports
Giants' Abdul Carter: 'No beef' with Jaxson Dart over President Trump intro
Apr 25, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, US; New York Giants first round draft picks, Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart pose for photos prior to the start of the press conference. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter officially cleared the air Friday about his since-deleted tweet criticizing New York quarterback Jaxson Dart for introducing President Donald Trump at a political event earlier this month.
Talking after Friday’s OTA practice, Carter wasn’t apologetic for what he said. However, he made it clear it hasn’t affected his relationship with Dart.
“First off, I’m going to say that some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things. Jaxson is one of our leaders. He’s the face of our franchise. He not only represents himself and what he does, but he represents all of us, and that goes for anybody who wears a Giants uniform,” Carter said.
“But if he chooses to align himself with a man like President Trump, it’s my responsibility based on what I believe and what I stand on to not only show my teammates that I’m against that, but to show the world.
“That doesn’t mean that we have to spread hate. It doesn’t mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef. I sit next to Jaxson every day, every team meeting. We’re close. We talk. As long as we make sure we’ve got the same goal as a team and our goals align, which they do, I feel like that’s all that matters. I just want to move past this.”
Dart introduced Trump last week at festivities supporting the campaign of Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents New York’s Hudson Valley in Congress and is running for a third term.
Dart’s presence and on-the-mic role at the rally sparked a reaction from Carter, the third overall draft pick in 2025 – the same year in which the Giants selected Dart with the 25th pick.
“Thought this (s-) was AI,” Carter wrote in a since-deleted post on X that showed the video featuring Dart’s introduction of the president. “What we doing, man?”
Dart, who also talked to the media on Friday, opened with a statement which shared his side of the story.
“This was a unique opportunity, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the President of the United States,” Dart said. “My thinking was pretty simple, in the fact of, I’ve always loved this country. I have extended family members who have fought in wars. I have two uncles who have retired from the Air Force Academy and served themselves. And I even have a great-grandfather who served as the Secretary of the Treasury at some point.
“The president position has always been a position that I have a lot of respect in, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party. My intentions were just that.”
Dart added that some productive conversations amongst Giants players have come out of this situation.
“We have a real brotherhood. We’ve had a lot of honest conversations with each other, as a team, and I’d like to keep those things private between me and my teammates.”
Carter, who was seen embracing Dart during Friday’s workout, made it clear he isn’t looking for Dart to apologize.
“I don’t want him to say he’s sorry. Stand on what you believe in,” Carter said. “But it can’t be a problem when I stand on what I believe in. That’s all that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it’s all good.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston, a 12-year NFL veteran, shared his veteran perspective as for how valuable it can be for two guys entering their second seasons to come out the other side of something like this.
“I think these two young guys being resilient and showing that uncomfortable situations and coming to a, not a compromise, but coming to a position of strength, of authority, of the impact that they have, that we have as athletes with this platform to the world, is so good for them to experience,” Winston said.
“Because guys, they were drafted together. You don’t have a tighter bond than that. They sit next to each other in the team meeting room. That’s what we see in this world. Sometimes we try to normalize just opinions, people’s opinions. Everybody wants to jump on, oh, he said this, she did that, but we don’t normalize togetherness. We don’t normalize perspective. Everyone has that.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marta Kostyuk to put clay-court streak on line against Iga Swiatek at French Open
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk her third round match against Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic at the French Open on May 29, 2026.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, who has not lost on the clay courts this season, advanced to the fourth round of the French Open on Friday — with four-time champion Iga Swiatek her next opponent.
The 15th-seeded Kostyuk won titles on the clay courts in Madrid and Rouen leading up to the French Open. She advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.
Swiatek, the third seed, most recently won the title at Roland Garros in Paris in 2024. She defeated Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Polish match on Friday to advance. With the win, she avenged her three-set loss to Linette earlier this year in Miami.
Swiatek has yet to win a tournament on clay this season and has a record of 9-3. Her most recent title, on any surface, came last August in Cincinnati.
Kostyuk had an optimistic tone in her post-match news conference, even though she has lost all three career matchups against Swiatek and hasn’t won a set from her.
“I definitely have a different feeling going into this match,” she said. “Because I feel like last time that I played her in Cincinnati, I lost this match way before it even started, and I don’t feel the same this time.”
Swiatek also won the tournament in 2020 before three straight victories from 2022-24 and is 43-3 overall at Roland Garros. Only Chris Evert (seven) and Stefanie Graf (six) have more singles wins in Paris during the Open Era.
Kostyuk knows that history, too.
“She’s won this tournament four times. I would love to be the one who is a favorite in this match, but I still don’t think it’s the case, even though I have this really long streak,” the Ukrainian said. “But it’s not going to ruin my day or ruin my game. I still want to go out and try my best and enjoy. Like, I have never taken a set off her. Even if I win one set in the next match, I’m going to be very happy. That’s how I look at it, and I’m excited for this match.”
Other winners Friday were eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who defeated Czech Marie Bouzkova, the 27th seed, 6-4, 6-2. In the fourth round, she will face Jil Teichmann of Switzerland, who upset 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova of Czechia 6-1, 7-5.
Sorana Cirstea of Romania, the 18th seed, shut out Solana Sierra of Argentina 6-0, 6-0 to set up a fourth-round meeting with Xiyu Wang of China.
Seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine ousted Tamara Korpatsch of Germany 6-2, 6-3. She will play the winner of the late Friday match between 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Peyton Stearns.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tempo looking to repeat earlier success against Storm
May 13, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey (3) drives to the basket against Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown (8) during the second half at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Toronto Tempo will be out for a repeat win against the visiting Seattle Storm on Saturday afternoon.
The expansion Tempo defeated the visiting Storm 86-73 on May 13 for the first victory in franchise history.
Toronto (4-4) is coming off Wednesday’s 111-104 road win over the Chicago Sky that snapped a two-game skid.
Seattle (3-5) had a two-game winning streak halted Wednesday with a 78-64 loss to the Washington Mystics.
In their win at Chicago, the Tempo had a career-best 29 points from Nyara Sabally, who also had six rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
“This is really not surprising to me,” said teammate Marina Mabrey, who had 24 points and seven assists. “(Sabally) is a really good player and can read the game really well and is super smart.”
“She is an important player for us,” coach Sandy Brondello said about Sabally.
Brittney Sykes added 20 points for the Tempo, who shot 56.1% (37 of 66), including 46.2% (12 of 26) from 3-point range.
The Storm trailed 48-29 by halftime against the Mystics and could not recover despite a 19-12 fourth-quarter edge.
Jade Melbourne led Seattle scorers with 15 points.
The Storm shot only 34.9% (22 of 63) from the field and 21.7% (5 of 23) from beyond the arc.
“We won’t turn the page,” Storm coach Sonia Raman said. “We’re never going to turn the page on any game. We want to make sure that, win or lose, we learn and we grow. We’ll go back. We’ll watch film. We’ll process it and then make the adjustments we need to make because some of the things that happened today are things that we want to be better at going forward, no matter who we play.”
In the first meeting against the Storm, the Tempo were led by Mabrey’s 26 points on 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point distance. She also had four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
“(Mabrey) makes all these 3s, but it’s how she creates for her teammates, too,” Brondello said.
Sykes added 18 points and eight rebounds against Seattle.
Dominique Malonga scored 21 points to lead the Storm in their first visit to Toronto. She did not play because of concussion protocol on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Luka Doncic, Donnie Nelson pair to purchase Rome pro team
May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77, middle) reacts after a made basket against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic and former Dallas Mavericks executive Donnie Nelson teamed to purchase professional basketball club Vanoli Cremona in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A, with a bid to become NBA Europe’s representative in Rome.
The club is relocating to Rome ahead of the 2026-27 season as part of the purchase with Nelson, son of longtime NBA coach Don Nelson, and Doncic joined in the ownership group by former Italian league player Rimantas Kaukenas and coach Valerio Bianchini.
“I have dreamed about owning a team in Europe for a long time, to finally have this happen is amazing,” Doncic said in a statement. “Vanoli has a great history, and we are ready to take it to the next level in Rome. We have an amazing group of partners, and I really believe we can do something special for basketball in Italy and Europe.”
The NBA is partnering with FIBA to develop NBA Europe with plans for the league to begin as soon as fall 2027. Commissioner Adam Silver set a goal of at least 12 teams for the inaugural season with the potential for 16 total teams, depending on various factors.
Donnie Nelson, 63, was a key figure in the front office of the Mavericks when Dallas acquired Doncic on draft night in 2018 for Trae Young.
Bianchini, 82, earned a reputation as a consistent winner with three Italian league championships with three different clubs.
–Field Level Media
Marta Kostyuk to put clay-court streak on line against Iga Swiatek at French Open
Tempo looking to repeat earlier success against Storm
