The game was disastrous enough. The aftermath keeps getting worse.
A father whose two young sons were hit with water and ice by Jeremy Shockey in the first quarter of last Sunday’s catastrophic 39-38 Giants playoff loss to the 49ers wants an example to be made of the rambunctious rookie tight end.
“He’s a punk kid who’s gotten a lot of fame, but that’s no excuse,” the father, a 49ers season ticket holder, yesterday told The Post. The father asked his name not be used.
The NFL is investigating the incident. “I think he should be fined,” the father said. “All I wanted was an apology and for the NFL to make an example of him. He needs to grow up.”
No one disputes the facts of what transpired behind the Giants bench. According to the Giants, Shockey was frustrated when he went to the sidelines in the first quarter, first about a non-call on what he believed was pass interference, second about some heckling ringing in his ears from the fans seated behind the Giants bench. Shockey did indeed take a paper cup filled with ice water and fling the contents into the stands, but the Giants insist Shockey threw it over his shoulder and did not intend to hit anyone.
But it did. The water and ice struck two young boys, ages five and six, sitting in the first row. “It hit one of my sons in the cheek and he started to cry,” the father said. “[Shockey] wasn’t getting it any worse than anybody else does. He didn’t turn around and whip it at us, but he was trying to throw it into the crowd.”
Almost instantly, stadium security became involved. The father spoke with police and was asked if he wanted to have Shockey arrested. “Imagine the kind of chaos if that happened,” the father said. “All I wanted was for [Shockey] to look my two children in the eyes and apologize for what he did.”
Mike Murphy, the Giants security chief, along with Peter John-Baptiste of the public relations department went over to survey the damage. Baptiste apologized on behalf of the team and presented the family with a football, inviting them into the Giants locker room after the game to get the ball signed by Shockey.
After the game, the family, dressed in 49ers garb, entered the visitors locker room, where the scene was one of shock after the Giants had blown a 24-point lead. Shockey did apologize and signed the football, but the father was taken aback by what he says he heard.
“You could tell it was awkward for him,” the father said. “He said, ‘Everybody is [bleeping] talking [bleep] out there, but I apologize.’ “
Then, the father said, Shockey looked up and added, “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Pat Hanlon, the Giants vice president of communications, said he cannot substantiate that story. The father asked for a second ball for his other son and the team promised to send him a second ball signed by Shockey. Hanlon said that ball was mailed Wednesday. The Giants consider the matter closed.
“We made a mistake, but nobody was hurt, nothing was intentional, Shockey apologized,” Hanlon said. “Now [the father] still wants more. I am absolutely, 100 percent comfortable with how we handled it and that Shockey was genuinely sorry for what happened.
“If this gentleman had a problem with the apology, we’d have appreciated if he’d contact us directly.”
The boys, the father said, got over the incident rather quickly, and added he has no problem with the way the Giants handled the matter. “They obviously wanted to take care of it as quickly as possible, to defuse the situation,” the father said. “That doesn’t excuse the behavior of an individual on their team.”