The Saints know exactly what they signed up for.
Less than a week after Janoris Jenkins was cut by the Giants for calling a fan a “retard” and failing to offer a sincere apology, the new Saints cornerback spent Wednesday’s introduction to the New Orleans media appearing no more contrite about using the slur on social media.
“I mean, I never stood by it,” Jenkins said. “They twisted it. I said I’m sorry to whoever I offended. The way I was raised, we got different cultures and different terms that you use. If I was to go out there and say, ‘Hey, you went retarded on [the] football field,’ would you look at it as me talking about somebody disabled? Or would you look at me [as] saying, ‘Oh, he did some crazy stuff out there, some amazing stuff’?”
“It’s just different terms and I feel like people just took it the wrong way. Once again, like I did five days ago, I’ll do it again: I apologize if I offended anybody or anybody with those disabilities. I didn’t mean it that way.”
Jenkins, 31, was released with one year remaining on his five-year, $62.5 million deal. After being claimed off waivers by a Super Bowl contender, the former Pro Bowler said he wasn’t bothered by the Giants’ decision.
“Business is business,” Jenkins said. “You can’t control what they do in the front office. You just go in each and every day and go to work. And anybody around that facility can tell you that ‘Jackrabbit’ always showed up on time — never late — and did what he had to do.
“I never had any problems over there other than this one,” Jenkins said. “But I was just focused on playing football.”