While media and content creators fall into a familiar culture war over Jaxson Dart’s support for Donald Trump and the issues it seems to have caused in the New York Giants’ locker room, former NFL star Chris Long sees it as part of a far larger pattern facing young men in the U.S. and particularly in sports.
Last weekend, Dart gave an introduction at a Trump rally in New York. Giants defensive lineman Abdul Carter called out the move on X before later revealing that he had made good with Dart directly. A media firestorm predictably followed, with people pointing fingers at both Giants stars, calling Dart out for publicly embracing a deeply unpopular political figure and calling Carter out for criticizing a teammate over social media.
The story will likely end as NFL news now that the two have hashed it out, but Long took the time this week on his Green Light podcast to address the situation, explaining why NFL locker rooms are uniquely equipped to bridge political and cultural divides and why Dart’s position is far more understandable than many left-leaning pundits or fans might want to admit.
Long first noted that he has “no problem” with Carter’s call-out of his quarterback, because of the “unprecedented time” America is going through politically since Trump’s re-election.
Then Long explained what he believes would drive an athlete like Dart, and the large swaths of young men who have embraced Trump since 2024, to do so: hypermasculinity and being cool.
“Most young men right now are making determinations off of vibes, which way the culture has swung, their favorite content creator, their favorite streamer, their circle, OK?” Long argued.
“I think it’s one of the biggest impediments to finding some logical middle-ground in America right now. Young men don’t want to be called ‘betas,’ and they don’t want to be called ‘gay,’ as ridiculous as that sounds. The branding of this debate, this culture war that’s going on, as unbelievably stupid as that sounds, [the locker room is] the most hypermasculine setting in sports.”
Long pointed out that in addition to youth and masculinity, many athletes are also driven by religion.
“These guys are going to do whatever appeals to their masculinity. It’s such an insecure time in your life as a young man. And you also have to remember, a lot of these guys are very religious,” he explained. “So as stupid as it sounds to be like, ‘This is my moral navigational beacon, is President Trump, as a religious man,’ it’s pragmatically the choice that religious people are making, deeply religious people making. And there’s a lot of religious guys in the NFL that come from deeply religious places.”
Addressing those who still want an explanation from a Trump-supporting athlete like Dart, Long called out what he sees as “naïveté” and a fundamental misunderstanding of how most Americans choose sides politically.
“The naïveté of people like me who can’t f*cking stand the president … I can’t stand the naïveté of my side looking at NFL players and saying, ‘I am shocked. I’m incensed, and I’m shocked that any of these young men support a guy like Donald Trump,'” Long said. “I’m sorry to tell you, but there’s a lot of guys in the NFL who are conservative. And if you haven’t noticed, American politics is more about, like, picking a side than weighing every individual leader or decision or bill or what have you … it’s just about, what is my side like?”
In addition to this fair-weather engagement with politics, Long posited that many athletes see the right side of the political spectrum as more likely to let them keep more of their money.
But big picture, Long offered a reminder to commentators or fans demanding an explanation or passing judgment on Dart, noting that they are not much different from other young American men. Football players, Long said, are swayed by their own personal beliefs, values, and affinities far more than the news coverage that extremely online reporters and social media users might.
“These guys aren’t watching C-SPAN, they’re not following the IRS settlement. Get them to explain what’s going on at the Strait of Hormuz. Ask Jaxson Dart to explain, like, tariffs. You know? Or any of this sh*t,” Long said.
“I’m pretty sure he probably isn’t that plugged in… I’m not giving everybody a pass for what I think is a bad take or whatever, but it is not pragmatic to think none of your neighbors think differently than you. But if you live in this idealistic world in your bubble, it’s just going to continue to be the same. I’m not saying you have to accept it, but just don’t act like you’re shocked.”
While Long’s argument poses new questions about how to change Americans’ media diets for the better or keep politicians from manipulating celebrity for their benefit, it is far more specific than the constant pro- and anti-Trump chatter that fills most shows’ run times. Long is drawing a connection between how young star athletes operate and how most young men in this country increasingly behave.
Those in the media who are concerned about Dart’s choices might do better to focus on that, as they have for more than a decade now, rather than whether he was right or wrong to speak at a rally.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.