WHY SO SERIOUS?
Giants receiver Toney sports Joker homage on visor, a nod to his rap handle
It was no laughing matter to see Kadarius Toney back on the practice field.
The Giants wide receiver wore a face-mask visor with a print of the HaHa tattoo associated with Jared Leto’s Joker character from the 2016 film “Suicide Squad” during practice Friday. The second-year wide receiver also is a rapper, going by the name Yung Joka.
Toney, who mostly treats Yung Joka as a separate persona from his football identity as a firstround draft pick, released his latest album, “Warrior 3,” in January. The Giants played a track during a training camp practice. PristineAuction.com once sold an authenticated Toney-autographed Joker figurine with his tagline — “Why so serious?” — for $128.99, records show.
It’s not the first time that Toney has created a buzz with an unusual visor. He paired a Louis Vuitton-logoed visor with his Joker-themed mouth guard during the first week of training camp, and a photo circulated by the Giants’ official Twitter account received nearly 3,000 likes.
While specialized visors are fun in practice, NFL rules still strictly govern usage in games, so Toney must put the visor back on the shelf. For years, only clear visors were allowed, though through a partnership with Oakley, players now are allowed to wear visors with a pinkish-blue hue.
Toney was a limited practice participant Friday and is questionable to play Sunday after he showed up on the injury report (hamstring). He originally tweaked his hamstring last month, returned to practice after preseason games were over and played seven snaps in Week 1, but then the hamstring “tightened up” and forced Toney out of certain team periods of practice Thursday, according to head coach Brian Daboll.