New York Giants tight end Evan Engram scored the first touchdown of his NFL career Monday night, but it came with a cost after he was penalized for what the officials deemed an inappropriate gesture. However, the rookie insists he did not have a lapse in judgement.
Following the Giants’ 24-10 loss to the Detroit Lions, Engram said he did not intend to grab his crotch area and called the 15-yard penalty “bullcrap.”
“I don’t know what they were talking about, I did nothing intentional,” he said, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “That was bull-crap, there was nothing intentional. I was just trying to dance. One of the guys came in and bumped into me. I was really shocked. I was trying to talk to the refs and let them know. I guess I accidentally touched something. Nothing intentional. It was a bad thing.”
The crotch grab didn’t seem blatant, though it’s to tell if it was truly an accident. Here’s the video:
Engram’s penalty left the Giants kicking from their 20-yard line. The penalty combined with a kickoff going out of bounds gave Detroit the ball at the New York 45. The Lions ended up scoring a touchdown on the drive.
A few years back, Engram’s gesture probably would have been ignored by the officials. He can thank Marshawn Lynch for making everyone so sensitive to it.
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