Giants Players Head Up To Newtown, Hold Football Clinics For Youngsters
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Giants are preparing for the upcoming season this week with voluntary workouts at their team facility.
But they're also taking some time to make a difference.
Roughly 25 Giants headed to Newtown, Conn., on Thursday afternoon to hold football clinics for youngsters from the community.
Newtown, of course, is home to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a gunman left 20 children and six adults dead last December.
Defensive end Matt Broha was especially excited to head up to Connecticut and lend a hand.
Punter Steve Weatherford also could barely restrain himself, tweeting repeatedly about what a phenomenal time he had with the kids.
Left guard Kevin Boothe and fullback Henry Hynoski were also among the Giants who went up to Newtown.
The Giants have done a lot to honor the Newtown community ever since the unthinkable tragedy took place.
About 400 residents of Newtown attended the Giants-Philadelphia Eagles game on December 30. Among them were a few families who lost children in the massacre. One was the family of Jack Pinto, the 6-year-old boy buried in a No. 80 jersey of Giants receiver Victor Cruz.
Cruz drove to Newtown with his girlfriend, Elaina Watley, and their daughter, Kennedy, in December to meet with the Pinto family. They talked about football, life and young Jack, the child who idolized him.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell greeted the Newtown group in a stadium tunnel during the Dec. 30 contest. The residents formed a gantlet to welcome players from both teams before the game. Then they held hands during the anthem.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin and ex-Eagles coach Andy Reid slowly walked the gantlet and said hello to as many people as they could.
The Newtown visitors held at least a dozen hand-made signs in the stadium. One green-and-white sign read, "Sandy Hook: We Choose Love."
Classy organization. Classy gesture. Sound off with your thoughts and comments below...
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