Osi Umenyiora apologizes for missing media session
Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants answers questions from the press during a media availability session for Super Bowl XLVI. (Feb. 2, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
INDIANAPOLIS -- Osi Umenyiora is used to applying the heat, but Thursday he had to take a little from the NFL and the media.
Umenyiora, who was fined $20,000 by the league for missing a mandatory 45-minute media session Wednesday, found about 40 reporters and camera people waiting for him when he reported to Thursday's media session.
Umenyiora apologized for missing the Wednesday session and said it was a misunderstanding because he thought he had fulfilled his media obligations Tuesday.
"We had a media day the day before, so I left to go hang out with my family members," he said. "I came back and saw my phone. It was crazy."
Umenyiora said he didn't know he had missed Wednesday's morning session until he returned to his hotel for a team meeting at about noon. Although it turned out to be a rather expensive outing with his family, Umenyiora said he understands and accepts the fine.
"They have to make it something big," Umenyiora said. "If it was $1,000, everyone would stay in their rooms."
It wasn't the first time this season that Umenyiora failed to be where he was supposed to be and caused a distraction. The defensive end reported late to training camp because he was upset about his contract. Umenyiora, who has one year worth slightly less than $4 million remaining on his contract, was upset going into the season because he believed that Giants general manger Jerry Reese had reneged on a promise to renegotiate.
Umenyiora laughed when asked Thursday if his absence had anything to do with his contract situation. "It had nothing to do with it," he said.
Umenyiora didn't seem to mind getting grilled by reporters Thursday. Maybe that's because he's trying to enjoy even the most tedious moments of Super Bowl week. Considering it's unlikely that he will return without a raise, this could be his last season with the Giants.
After ending his holdout, Umenyiora has done an excellent job blocking out his contract distractions once he steps on the field. Though he missed seven full games -- three after preseason knee surgery and four with a high ankle sprain -- he still had nine sacks during the regular season. He's had 31/2 in the playoffs, leading the resurgence of the Giants' pass rush.
Defensive pressure on Tom Brady was at the heart of the Giants' Super Bowl upset of the Patriots four years ago, and it was Umenyiora who set the tone of the game with the first big hit on Brady. He knows that if the Giants are to win again Sunday, they are going to have to make Brady "uncomfortable."
Earlier in the week, Jason Pierre-Paul said the team got inside of Brady's head in the Giants' 24-20 win at Gillette Stadium in Week 9, adding that Brady is a great quarterback but he "isn't God."
Umenyiora said he liked the fact that the young lineman spoke with confidence.
Said Umenyiora: "Tom Brady isn't God, but he might be Jesus. At the end of the day, he's an outstanding football player. And we know that."
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