Saquon Barkley Blasted Giants Fans Angry He Was Cheering on the 76ers

Barkley fired back at Giants fans still upset he joined the Eagles.
Mar 14, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley speaks during a
Mar 14, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley speaks during a / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Saquon Barkley took to Twitter to blast New York Giants fans Thursday night. They believed they had been given another reason to be angry at him and he urged them to get over it.

Barkley was at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia as the 76ers took on the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their first round NBA playoff series. A newly-minted member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley was there to cheer on the Sixers as they attempted to keep the series alive.

Giants fans couldn't believe he was in attendance rooting on a rival and made a big stink about it on social media. In response to the hate he was getting online, Barkley tweeted the following.

After six seasons with the Giants, the two-time Pro Bowler left the franchise to join the rival Eagles this offseason. After years of attempting to get a long-term contract out of the Giants, Philadelphia handed him a three-year, $37.75 million deal and he jumped on it. Barkley grew up in Pennsylvania and starred at Penn State, so the move to Philly is also something of a homecoming.

When a Giants fan accused Barkley of bailing on New York, he had a sharp reply. The 27-year-old running back said, "Let me educate some of you fans here... I can't bail or become a traitor if I never got an offer to come back... so I went to the organization I felt that was the best and after already being here for a month man I'm excited to be a eagle ! Go birds."

He does have a point. The relationship with the Giants felt broken when the two sides couldn't agree to a long term deal for more than a year. He played the 2023 season on the non-exclusive franchise tag and New York showed no urgency to lock him up. Maybe he's right that Giants fans should hurry up and get over his departure.


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Ryan Phillips

RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.