Jun 062014
 
Antrel Rolle and Trindon Holliday, New York Giants (June 5, 2014)

Antrel Rolle and Trindon Holliday – Photo by Connor Hughes

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Antrel Rolle didn’t have an answer.

Standing in front of cameras, microphones and reporters following the culmination of yesterday’s Organized Team Activity, the Giants’ Pro-Bowl safety seemed stunned.

Not at the fact Jayron Hosley was suspended for four games, or at the fact Will Hill had just been cut. Heck, Rolle admitted he saw it coming. But what had the 31-year-old shocked was a simple three-letter question.

Why?

“It’s too easy to do right, than to keep doing wrong,” Rolle said.

For the better part of eight minutes, Rolle fielded questions without backing down or shying away from one. Whatever was thrown on the table, he answered with the same veracity and sincerity that had often times got him in trouble.

But today was different. The safety wasn’t looking to make headlines or light a fire under his teammates. Rolle was speaking from his heart on a situation few knew the true light of.

There was disappointment in his voice, embarrassment. Shock that what he had done for a decade others were not able to replicate. There was a sense that he was holding back, while also fully letting go. Hill was troubled, yes, but the Giants had done everything possible to help the situation. Still, it wasn’t enough.

When you heard the Will Hill news, it was probably disappointing.

“Will knew what situation he had put the Giants in, he kind of forced their hand,” Rolle said. “At that point in time you can’t really depend on Will to help us out and to really do anything for us if you’re suspended repeatedly. Season after season after season.”

With Will and Jayron (Hosley) coming back-to-back, do you feel like something needs to be said?

“No, I don’t feel anything needs to be said,” Rolle said. “Every individual has to be accountable for his own action. They’re both adults. They’re both men.”

The normally peppy and high-energy Rolle was anything but. There was something about the situation that seemed truly troubling. Throughout his entire career, Rolle had embodied the correct way for an athlete to carry himself.

During the offseason, Rolle lives in Miami. He goes out with friends to clubs in the area, has a good time and his personality often makes him the life of the party. Yet he knows when enough is enough. Not once has Rolle been suspended for any off-the-field antics.

“This is my 10th year and I’ve lived it,” Rolle said. “Not every guy is going to be like myself. I’m not going to be like every other guy.”

The same message with the same disappointed mannerisms was echoed when Tom Coughlin took his place in front of the media. There was nothing else the coach could have done. At the end of the day, both for Hosley and Hill, it comes down to the player maturing enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong.

“If this is your job and you’re willing to jeopardize your job for some other reason,” Coughlin said. “Then perhaps you don’t have your mind and priorities where they should be in the first place.”

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Connor Hughes/BBI

Connor Hughes has been working in both the broadcasting and journalism fields for the last seven years. His work has been heard on WMCX, WBZC and Lenape District Television, while read on the pages of The Star-Ledger and The Burlington County Times. Connor can be reached via email ([email protected]) or on twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes)

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