SUNDAY, 12:08pm: As Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News writes, the Giants’ decision to cut Moore reveals the team’s lack of defensive line depth and general lack of promising young talent. However, Big Blue may not have had a choice. As Mike Garafolo of FOXSports (via FOXSports colleague Jay Glazer) tweets, Moore has been “fighting his teammates since Day 1 of training camp,” and has “yelled at” both head coach Tom Coughlin and GM Jerry Reese. Despite repeated warnings from New York brass, Moore failed to adjust his attitude, which ultimately sealed his fate with the club (Twitter links).
SATURDAY, 1:51pm: Moore admitted in a radio interview a fight with Jenkins over headphones did ensue, but that the skirmish stemmed from a “compilation” of issues between the two defensive linemen, James Kratch of NJ.com writes.
Moore called into an ESPN New York radio show to explain his side of the events, noting he’d had several issues with the 34-year-old Jenkins, with the headphones being the final straw, so to speak. Moore did not receive a pair of free headphones, while Jenkins was seen taking several pairs prior to Thursday’s practice, Kratch reports.
The two ex-teammates haven’t spoken since the fight.
“I definitely could have handled it better by just obviously walking away,” Moore told the radio station. “The crazy thing was, I don’t really necessarily look at (the dispute) as over a Beats By Dre headphone. … It was more of a respect thing. It was, you know, a combination of things that build up over time.”
Moore mentioned Beckham, Steve Weatherford and select others who have reached out after the sudden separation. Before mentioning he’s ready should another team express interest, he doesn’t characterize himself as immature, but a player in development and perhaps in need of a scenery change.
“By no way was I a saint. I had a lot of learning curves and majority factors,” Moore said. “I’ve grown over the time and I felt like, you know, things just ran its course. It happens in this game. As you know, it’s very rare that most people spend their whole career with a certain team. I think it just ran its course.”
FRIDAY, 5:22pm: When Damontre Moore was cut by the Giants today, reports indicated that New York made the move after the defensive end violated team rules. But the details of the incident are a bit more specific and — arguably — comical, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link) that Moore got into a fight with fellow defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins after failing to get free Beats by Dre headphones (which other players apparently received).
Star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was reportedly handing out the headphones as gifts, per Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (Twitter link), when Jenkins grabbed multiple pairs. The story is a tad reminiscent of the IK Enemkpali/Geno Smith saga that took place during the preseason, where Enempali broke Smith’s jaw over what early reports described was a monetary dispute. Moore, who, for the record, is earning $585K in pre-tax income, lost his roster spot over an item that retails at roughly $200.
According to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, today’s decision was the culmination of Moore’s repeated behavioral and maturity issues, with the final straw being his altercation with Jenkins. Moore has been fined several times by the club this year for rules violations and behavior problems, per Graziano.
Wow spoiled athletes first being selfish and taking more than they should then another fighting over it. Walmart has free layaway if these guys can’t afford the money up front
God dang if I was able to get into any professional sport I would hope I would never act like this, losing more than both of my parents grandparents, uncles and aunts salary combined over a 200 dollar pair of beats. Christ man
I don’t know who he thinks he is taking two pairs of headphones!