Pat Shurmur said that Corey Ballentine was "a victim of a crime," using the word "unfortunate" and saying he is "disappointed." But those last two descriptions seemed to be aimed more at some public reaction to the incident involving the Giants' sixth-round pick than the situation itself.
Ballentine was hit in the glute during a shooting that took the life of his friend and teammate Dwane Simmons near the Washburn University campus in Topeka, Kan., last weekend. He was released from the hospital shortly after the violence but the Giants encouraged him to remain at home for "closure" during this weekend's rookie minicamp.
There were some, most notably WFAN's Mike Francesa, who suggested that Ballentine being shot was a bad look for the Giants. Shurmur disputed that thesis.
"He was a victim of a crime," Shurmur said on Friday. "He's a great young man. We got to know him really well through the draft process. My son trained with him at Exos (leading up to the draft), so there's some intimate knowledge of what a great young man he is. It's very unfortunate. He was a victim of a crime, just like could happen to any of us."
Asked if he was speaking to those who have suggested Ballentine did something wrong in getting shot, Shurmur said: "I'm certainly aware of some of the stuff, but I guess we know most if not all of the details so that's really not for me to comment on."
Shurmur had no update on Ballentine's physical status.
"We haven't seen him yet," he said. "He got shot in the butt so I don't know. We'll find out when he gets here."
He did say that the expectation is Ballentine will make a full recovery and be able to play at some point.
"That's what they're saying, but certainly it might take a little bit of time," Shurmur said.
Ballentine is now expected to join the team on May 13 when the rookies and veterans come together for the first time.
"We're here for him," Shurmur said. "Certainly he's going through the vigils and the funerals and the things that he has to go through and we're here to support him as he comes back to us. We're just here for him. Thoughts and prayers go his way ... This is a unique situation. We want him to get full closure on his end. We're sensitive to that. This is a real-life situation so we want him to make sure he gets full closure. It's May and we play in September, so we want to make sure he gets done on that end what he needs to and he gets the help that he needs."
