ON BENDED KNEE

Giants owner Mara says he will support players who kneel for national anthem

Giants co-owner John Mara appeared to allude to DeAndre Baker’s imminent release on Thursday when asked about the corner’s offseason arrest. “Well it’s obviously very disappointing when that happens,” Mara said. “We certainly did not see that coming, and a decision will be made sooner rather than later on that.”

This comes one day after GM Dave Gettleman gave a seeming head nod toward releasing Baker entirely from the Commissioner Exempt List, saying “timing” was a factor in the decision.

Mara insisted Baker’s arrest for an alleged armed robbery at gunpoint “was a shock.”

“I mean there was no indication coming out of college,” he said. “I listen very closely in those draft meetings when they talk about players and their backgrounds and whatnot, and particularly when you’re talking about a first-round player. There was no indication that we should be concerned about any criminal activity, so that was a big disappointment.”

Multiple teams had Baker flagged before the draft for coachability and work ethic concerns, though. And Baker validated those concerns with his immaturity and poor work ethic and decision-making as a rookie in 2019.

Mara seemed to give credence to the idea that there were some knocks against Baker before the draft, just nothing like this. The Giants’ coowner did not seem to put additional blame on Gettleman for trading up to draft Baker in the 2019 first round.

LITTLE HOPE FOR FANS AT GAMES

Mara said the Giants are “not gonna have fans certainly in September” at MetLife Stadium, and he’s not much more optimistic about the rest of the season, either.

“I’m hopeful at some point we could have them back in, but I have to say I’m not all that optimistic about that,” Mara said.

Mara said he’s had “a couple conversations” with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and “if we get to a point where the state believes that we can do this safely, then we’ll consider letting fans in the building.”

But he said “I’m not sure that we’re at that point right now, so I think we just have to be supportive of what the Governor is trying to do. That’s what our position is.”

ROCK THE VOTE

On the subject of activism, the NFL and NFL players’ association announced Thursday that all league, union and team facilities will be closed on Nov. 3 “to ensure that every member of the NFL family has an opportunity to exercise the precious right to vote.”

The Players Coalition also is leading several community initiatives, including “working to make club facilities available for use on Election Day.” There is no concrete word yet on whether MetLife Stadium will be one of those sites.