The Giants were supposed to practice inside Thursday, because of air quality issues stemming from eastern Canada’s wildfires.
Instead, they won’t practice at all.
Before the Giants’ organized team activities practice could begin, coach Brian Daboll canceled it — likely along with Friday’s OTAs practice, Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media reports.
“We’ll probably not do it [Friday], just to let this thing settle down,” Daboll said.
Daboll made the decision because the Giants’ medical staff determined that even the air quality inside the team’s East Rutherford practice facility was too poor for rigorous physical activity.
As of late Thursday morning, when the Giants were scheduled to practice, the air quality index in East Rutherford was 198, which is categorized as “unhealthy.” The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has northern New Jersey on an air quality alert through the end of Friday.
Daboll said that leading up to Thursday’s practice, some players expressed concerns about the air quality inside the Giants’ fully enclosed practice facility. That led the medical staff to examine the situation. And that stuff suggested to Daboll that practice be canceled. So that’s what Daboll did.
“I’m going to listen to the [medical] people with a bunch of initials next to their degrees,” Daboll said. “Some of the players brought it up to [head trainer] Ronnie [Barnes], and then Ronnie got the doctors out here. I’ve never seen anything like this [with smoky, hazy air]. I mean, it’s crazy, isn’t it?
“It was important to the players [to address the situation], and you can see how it looks in here. So to me, it’s not worth it for those guys.”
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