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While the Jaxson Dart-Abdul Carter speech has gone haywire, Super Bowl champion Joe Theismann wasn’t concerned about the impact it could have on the locker room.
Dart introduced President Donald Trump before his speech in Suffern, New York, on Friday, and his New York Giants teammate Abdul Carter disagreed. Theismann said that while players in a locker room have different opinions, the focus is on football and that Dart-Carter’s speech will have no effect.
“No (it has any effect). It will be football. I mean, politics is one thing and sports are another, and we’re starting to see them intersect. People have different opinions on a lot of different things in a locker room,” Theismann told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview.
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Former NFL player Joe Theismann speaks with sportscaster Chris Collinsworth before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on Nov. 2, 2025. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
“A locker room is like a giant family. It’s not 53 guys, it’s 80 guys because you have people from the practice squad, you have people coming in and going out. So, everyone has a lot of different opinions. I think when it comes to football, guys focus on football.”
While Dart and Carter appear to have different political views, they seemed to squash any potential breakup when Carter posted to X in a since-deleted tweet that they were “good.”
“JD6 and I are good! We talked like men before,” Carter wrote. “You all get to keep your narratives.”
Dart, 23, set the stage for Trump’s speech with a chant before welcoming the president to the stage.
“Big Blue Nation, it’s a pleasure to be here. I have to start with a ‘Go Big Blue,'” Dart said, then led the chant for a few moments before proceeding to introduce Trump.
“What an honor, what a privilege it is to be here, and without further ado, I’m grateful, I’m honored, I’m pleased to introduce you to the 45th and 47th president of the United States, President Donald J. Trump.”
Trump and Dart then shook hands on stage before the 23-year-old walked away.
ABDUL CARTER DELETES CRITICISM FROM HIS MATE JAXSON DART EVEN WHEN THE NEW YORK RADIO HOST DESTROYS HIM ON THE AIR
(Left) New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) practices before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on December 21, 2025. (Right) Abdul Carter (51) of the New York Giants looks from the field before an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on October 9 of 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images; Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Carter started the storm by reposting a video of Dart introducing Trump at X and captioning the tweet: “I thought this was AI what we’re doing man.” He has since deleted the tweet.
The discourse over Carter’s new post about Dart’s appearance with Trump was rampant on social media. Theismann called social media one of the worst things to happen to athletics.
“If you like someone, you like someone. If you don’t like someone, you don’t like someone. Probably, to some extent, the worst thing that has happened to athletics is social media. We’ve seen a lot of people get fooled by it. I think everyone has the right to have their own opinion, but I don’t see that affecting the locker room,” Theismann said.
Theismann played in the NFL for 12 seasons and spent all of them with the then-Washington Redskins. He said politics was never talked about in the locker room.
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President Donald Trump shakes hands with New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart as he arrives to speak at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, on May 22, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP)
“Never. We talked about family. We talked about football. We talked about the upcoming opponent. I can’t remember a conversation where we sat down and talked about some politics. I really can’t. And I think it was kind of a safe haven that a lot of us could get away from, you know, especially in Washington, D.C.,” Theismann said.
“You’re at the heart of all the political elements of life and it was a place that was safe to go.”
In the locker room, Theismann said you interact with so many different types of people who have different opinions on life, but never talked about politics. The 1983 MVP winner said that those were different times then and that people are more sensitive now.
“It was a different time and I think kids are sensitive now. They get caught up in the sensitivity of life and sometimes it’s good to step back and just let life exist and not try and get too upset about it,” Theismann said.
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NFL quarterback Jaxson Dart hugs President Donald Trump during a Fighting For American Workers event in Suffern, New York, on May 22, 2026. (Ryan Murphy/AP)
American Championship of the Century
This will be the 37th American Century Championship and Joe Theismann has played in 36 of them. He said he used to be a 2 handicap, but now it’s a 9, since he doesn’t hit the ball as far. He will look to go back in time when he plays in the July 10-12 tournament at Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe.
He said the American Century Championship is the only thing you really want to participate in.
“The American Century Championship has evolved into one of those things where, if you love golf and you’re in that quote-unquote celebrity world, it’s what you really want to be involved in. You can measure your game. You can pull back the curtain on so many wonderful people and you can see those that you see on TV because I’m a fan of everything. But now you get the chance to see them up close and personal and you get the chance to meet them and get to know them and it’s exciting,” Theismann said.
The 76-year-old said he can visit people in the countryside. He mentioned Jerry Rice, Tony Romo and Miles Teller as people he has had conversations with, calling himself a Teller “fan.”
Theismann said that “Top Gun: Maverick” is his favorite movie of all time.
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Former Notre Dame quarterback Joe Theismann waves to the crowd during a college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend on Oct. 12, 2024. (MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The tournament has raised more than $8 million for regional and national charities. American Century Investments donates 40% of its profits to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and activates tournament fundraising to drive direct donations to Stowers each year. Theismann credited executive director Jonathan Thomas for the tournament’s charitable work.
Theismann credited executive director Jonathan Thomas for the tournament’s charitable work.
The tournament will air on NBC and Peacock.
