Carl Banks is a former New York Giants linebacker and current Giants broadcaster who wears his Big Blue heart on his sleeve and isn't afraid to openly rip players for disappointing performances. Like a lot of fans, Banks gets bitter when things don't go his team's way, and he lashes out. The difference between Banks and most fans is his platform. During the season, he can rip guys on the radio. In the offseason, he can proclaim his disappointment to his more than 23,000 Twitter followers.
Well, I missed this over the weekend, but apparently Banks used the occasion of the automatic voiding of cornerback Corey Webster's contract to tear Webster apart on Twitter. Banks' accusations centered on the idea that Webster, who only participated in parts of four games in 2013 due to various injuries, "quit on his teammates."
Banks' first tweet on the matter reads, "#webster 5mil x 4games played x 0surgeries = GRAND LARCENY! Jesse James used a gun.." and includes a cartoon picture of a burglar in a mask with a huge bag slung over his shoulder. Banks went on to write that "#Webster QUIT on his teammates! #QUIT" and said that "what Webster did goes beyond the pale. He wouldn't practice or play, mystery injuries each week."
One rule of sports journalism is that it's a bad idea to claim a player's not hurt when he says he is. Webster supposedly had groin problems and ankle problems and barely even practiced after Week 2. I don't know if he was hurt or if he wasn't, but based on the way he conducted himself throughout the season, I'll say he provided Banks and other would-be critics with plenty of material for this type of criticism.
Webster took a pay cut last offseason following a disappointing 2012, and after a considerably more disappointing 2013, I would expect that his time with the Giants is at an end. He was a member of their last two Super Bowl champion teams.
