The vitriol that Graham Gano has faced the last three years has crossed a line way beyond the “You suck!” that he expects to hear after missing a field goal.
In jeopardy of missing his 21st game over the last three seasons for the Giants due to a herniated disc in his neck that is the latest in a long line of injuries, Gano opened up Thursday about death threats that he has experienced through social media messages and in-person confrontations.
“I hear everyone else’s frustration: media, fans,” Gano said. “Shoot, ever since sports betting started happening, I get people telling me to kill myself every week because I’ll hit a kick that loses them money [or] I’ll miss a kick and it loses them money. The other day, somebody told me to get cancer and die.”
The revelation came on a day that the NFL was rocked by the suicide of Cowboys second-year pro Marshawn Kneeland after a police pursuit and car crash in Texas.
“We were talking about that this morning, guys on the team,” said Gano, who is an NFL Players Association representative. “I hated hearing that news. The biggest thing — it’s not just football — it’s [for] everybody: If you have anybody that is on your mind to reach out to, do it. You never know. It could be the difference.”
Giants kicker Graham Gano says he has gotten death threats from fans over his performance. AP
The Giants and NFL security have been tracking hateful messages sent to Gano, 38, for about three years, in accordance with safety protocols.
“I really don’t respond,” Gano said. “I try not to see as much as I can. If I start seeing that stuff, I just shut [social media] off. Unfortunately, that’s just part of the game. I’ll get letters. I’ll get fans telling it to my face. I hear a lot of it from other guys on the team. Especially nowadays when you talk about mental health, it’s tough. I’ve gotten thick skin over the years. Early on, it really bothered you a lot. Nobody in here wants to hear stuff like that.”
Gano didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday after he missed a 45-yard field goal last Sunday against the 49ers in his second game back from a four-game absence due to a groin injury. He is holding out hope of kicking Sunday against the Bears and avoiding any discussions of another stint on injured reserve.
Many fans are fed up with the one-time Pro Bowl selection’s recurring injuries. His own pride and the team’s roster mismanagement have left the Giants in a spot in which having no kicker has contributed to three losses.
But the anger has manifested in the worst ways.
Graham Gano AP
“I just want to make the fans happy, help the team win games, and not being able to do that is hard,” Gano said. “People are passionate and a lot of it, I understand. I want to do my best. I’m proud to be a Giant. I wish there was something I could do to not be hurt. I want people to know I care; I want to play; I want to be the best I can; I want to make every kick. I wouldn’t be playing this long if I didn’t care about it.”
The discomfort in Gano’s neck started last week, but he thought he slept wrong and developed a kink. The pain intensified Monday after lifting weights and he underwent a spine injection Wednesday with hopes that he can kick in Friday’s practice.
“It’s unbelievably frustrating,” Gano said. “I can’t control the injuries that have happened. It’s not like I’ve done something that is out of the ordinary outside of the building to hurt myself or anything. I just want to play ball, and constantly not being able to is tough. Doing everything I can to try to come back and play, and that’s my hope.”
A pro since 2009, he has been one of the best kickers in Giants history since arriving in 2020. Even through injury, he is 18 of 21 on field goals and 24 of 24 on PATs across 15 games over the last two seasons.
Gano reasoned that he might do a better job tuning out the hate than others. He said he has received violent messages after winning kicks, too, because of gambling.
“Playing this long, that stuff, you are used to it now,” Gano said. “I kind of keep it to myself. I’ll talk to teammates if I am struggling. I’ve been playing ball since before [the rise of] social media, so I’ve gotten to see the whole gamut of it. I think it’s tough for a lot of the younger guys if you really listen to that stuff.”
The Giants hired director of wellness and clinical services Dr. Lani Lawrence in 2020, and players previously praised her contributions in interviews with The Post.
“We always stress mental health, how important it is,” head coach Brian Daboll said before Thursday’s practice. “Dr. Lani does a great job with that. We all have … people we are close with — and you never know what everybody is going through. Mental health — particularly nowadays for those of you who raise kids that go through a lot of different things, hear a lot of different things or read a lot of different things — is a lot different than when most of us were growing up. It’s a real thing.”