Giants looking into video of maskless Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley partying at bar
The New York Giants say they are investigating a video in which quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley can be seen hanging out maskless in a club, according to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano.
The video, taken from an Instagram story, started making the rounds Saturday morning, a day and a half after the Giants’ embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
A video made the rounds this morning of Giants QB Daniel Jones and injured RB Saquon Barkley supposedly partying without masks and social distancing.
Say the Giants: "We are aware of the video that was posted. We are looking into the nature and context of what is on the video."— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) October 24, 2020
According to Vacchiano, the video was taken Friday night. The two players, plus some teammates, reportedly had dinner together in a private room at a New York City restaurant, then were invited to have a drink at a bar closed to the public.
Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley clearly identified in video
The bar does appear to contain only a few people in the video, but the players are clearly not wearing masks. In one video, Jones can be seen receiving a drink from an unidentified woman.
Jones and Barkley are clearly identified in one image, with the caption “Rockin wit Danny dimes and Saquon.”
Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley breaking covid protocol by going clubbing after Eagles loss. My QB would never pic.twitter.com/am7zQrS9ie
— Deadrin Senat’s Uncle (@RyanLeeMP) October 24, 2020
Video poster claims Giants video is a year old
The video was apparently posted by a fellow known as DJ Lugghead, who served as the group’s driver that night, according to the New York Post. The video has since been taken down from Lugghead’s Instagram story.
Lugghead told the Post that the video was actually a year old, but the Post, as well as Vacchiano, report that is not the case:
DJ Lugghead, the original poster, told The Post the video was from last October and not Friday night. That turns out to be untrue.
“It was all posts from last year,” the DJ said. “It’s a memory that popped up from a year ago. That’s why I posted it.”
The DJ declined to comment further when contacted again and informed of The Post’s reporting.
Lugghead isn’t the first acquaintance of an athlete to hastily pull the “old video” defense amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as rapper Jack Harlow said the same after posting a video with Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams at an Atlanta strip club earlier this year.
Will Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley face NFL punishment?
If the Giants determine that Jones and Barkley were indeed out with teammates — and evidence points to that being the truth — the players or team could be facing some kind of punishment from the NFL.
The league explicitly banned gatherings outside a team facility earlier this month, and warned that violations of the COVID-19 policy could result in the loss of draft picks or even a game forfeiture. While that policy was essentially crafted in response to Tennessee Titans players holding informal workouts after an outbreak, we’ll see if the NFL thinks a group of players partying together at a bar qualifies.
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