Getty Giants WR Kadarius Toney
Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III is facing two felony charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving with death or substantial bodily harm. On Tuesday, November 2nd, the 2020 No. 12 overall pick was involved in a fatal car crash that led to the death of a 23-year-old woman and her dog, per the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. According to prosecutors, Ruggs was traveling 156 miles per hour with a blood alcohol content “more than twice the legal limit,” via Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Katelyn Newberg.
While Ruggs is in for a lengthy legal process, the Alabama native’s former employers will attempt to shift their focus back to the football field, as the Raiders are set for a Week 9 bout with the New York Giants.
Kadarius Toney, Big Blue’s electric rookie who the Raiders will look to bottle up on Sunday, took to Twitter shortly after the Ruggs incident to share his thoughts on the situation.
Toney Ripped for Ruggs Take
Amidst sending his prayers to all the families involved in the horrific accident, Toney shared some words for those ridiculing Ruggs for his actions.
“We young…..everybody make mistakes….y’all lookin at the situation like ‘this or that’ kuz it ain’t y’all…having so much too say….he know he messed up don’t drag em for it……that’s goofy to me….just pray for the families involved,” tweeted Toney.
Toney’s take has since gotten the Giants’ leading receiver in some heat over social media. One person in particular who didn’t take well to Toney’s comments was ESPN analyst Damien Woody. The former two-time Super Bowl champion ripped Toney for his incentive words.
“Some of y’all youngins don’t believe in accountability is the problem! A person was killed b/c of a terrible decision,” Woody tweeted in response to Toney.
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Social Media Continues to Plague Toney
From clapping back at fans over his rap career to vague tweets that can sometimes be misinterpreted, this isn’t the first time that Toney’s social media antics have gotten him in some hot water. It is, however, by far the most serious.
The 22-year-old originally swore off of posting to social media back in September after receiving backlash following an Instagram post (captured by NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt) which appeared to portray Toney’s frustration with his lack of involvement in the Giants offense.
Kadarius Toney posted this to Instagram. He was visibly upset at one point on the sideline in the second half after speaking with Joe Judge.
Nothing at a Golladay-Jones level, but clearly wasn’t happy.
Toney followed up that take by lashing out at the media, calling them clowns for making something out of nothing (via Pat Leonard New York Daily News):
Kadarius Toney calls the media “clowns” on Instagram #Giants
“What [have] I learned? I really learned that it’s really your job to create whatever you’re all going to create or out of whatever you all want it to be,” Toney said to reporters during an unprompted (somewhat lukewarm) apology in the days following his scrutinized Instagram stories. “From my standpoint, I’m just going to go back to what I normally used to do and not post at all to give you nothing to really talk about.”
Toney was likely attempting to show empathy and compassion towards Ruggs, someone who is undoubtedly struggling right now. However, though his intentions may have been good, he’d probably have been better served staying away from social media altogether in this instance — like he originally said he would.