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While the Jaxson Dart-Abdul Carter discourse has run amok, Super Bowl champion Joe Theismann didn’t care 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 New York Giants teammate Abdul Carter took issue with it. Theismann said that while players in a locker room have different opinions, the focus is on football and that the Dart-Carter discourse will have no effect.
“It’s not (having any effect). It’s going to be football. I mean, politics is one thing and sports is another, and we’re starting to see them intersect. People have different opinions about a lot of different things in a locker room,” Theismann told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
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Former NFL player Joe Theismann talks with sportscaster Chris Collinsworth before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Nov. 2, 2025. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
“A locker room is like a huge family. It’s not 53 guys, it’s 80 guys because you have training squad people, you have people in and 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 differing political opinions, they appeared to squash any potential rift when Carter wrote to X in a since-deleted tweet that they were “good.”
“Me and JD6 are good! We used to talk like men,” Carter wrote. “You can all keep your stories.”
Dart, 23, set the stage for Trump’s speech with a song before welcoming the president to the stage.
“Big Blue Nation, it’s a pleasure to be here. I had to start this off with a ‘Go Big Blue,'” Dart said, then led the chant for a few moments before continuing to introduce Trump.
“What an honor, what a privilege to be here, and without further ado, I’m grateful, I’m honored, I’m pleased to introduce 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 departed.
ABDUL CARTER DELETES CRITICISM OF TEAMMAN JAXSON DART EVEN AS NEW YORK RADIO HOST MASKES HIM ON AIR
(Left) New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) works out before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Dec. 21, 2025. (Right) Abdul Carter (51) of the New York Giants looks on from the sideline prior to an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, New Jersey, Oct. 9 at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey. 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images; Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Carter started the firestorm by reposting a video of Dart introducing Trump at X and captioning the tweet, “thought this was AI what we do man.” He has since deleted the tweet.
Discourse about Carter’s repost of Dart’s appearance with Trump was fierce on social media. Theismann called social media one of the worst things to happen to athletics.
“If you like somebody, you like somebody. If you don’t like somebody, you don’t like somebody. The worst thing that’s happened to athletics to a degree is probably social media. We’ve seen a lot of people just get boiled by it. I think everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, but I don’t see it affecting a locker room,” Theismann said.
Theismann played in the NFL for 12 seasons, spending all of them with the then-Washington Redskins. He said politics were never brought up in the locker room.
SUPER BOWL CHAMPION JEROME BETTIS HAS MESSAGE TO JAXSON DART, ABDUL CARTER AFTER TRUMP RALLY CONTROVERSY
President Donald Trump shakes hands with New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart as he arrives to speak at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY on May 22, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP)
“Never. We talked about family. We talked about football. We talked about the opponent coming. I can’t ever remember a conversation where we sat down and talked about anything in politics. I really can’t. And it was kind of a safe haven because I think a lot of us could get away from, you know, especially in Washington, DC,” Theismann said.
“You’re at the heart of all the political elements of life, and it was a safe place to go.”
In the locker room, Theismann said, you interact with so many different kinds of people who have different opinions about life, but they never talked about politics. The 1983 MVP winner said it was a different time back then and people are more sensitive now.
“It was a different time and I think guys are sensitive now. They get caught up in the sensitivity of life and sometimes. It’s nice to take a step back and just let life be and not try to get too caught up in it,” Theismann said.
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NFL quarterback Jaxson Dart hugs President Donald Trump during a Fighting For American Workers event in Suffern, NY, on May 22, 2026. (Ryan Murphy/AP)
American Century Championship
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 is now a nine as he doesn’t hit the ball as far. He will look to turn back the clock 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 be in.
“The American Century Championship has become one of those things that if you love golf at all and you happen to be in the unquote celebrity world, it’s the thing you really want to be in. You get to measure your game. You get to pull back the curtain on so many wonderful people and you get to see them, you watch on TV, because I’m a fan of everything, and now you see you get a chance to meet all and in person. them and get to know them, and it’s exciting,” Theismann said.
The 76-year-old said he is going to visit people on the field. He mentioned Jerry Rice, Tony Romo and Miles Teller as people he has had conversations with and called himself a Teller ‘fanboy’.
Theismann said “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 fundraising at the tournament to drive direct donations to Stowers each year. Theismann credited CEO Jonathan Thomas for the tournament’s charitable work.
Theismann credited CEO Jonathan Thomas for the tournament’s charitable work.
The tournament will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
