The Rush: Jets’ George Fant on O-line love, basketball swagger and social justice
New York Jets OL George Fant stops by to discuss why there’s more than what meets the eye to offensive line play, his career as a collegiate basketball player and which fellow NFL star he respects on the hardwood, the first time he went up against a certain Pro Bowl D-lineman, living a real life “Love and Basketball” story with his wife Chastity, his favorite Marshawn Lynch memory and his commitment to focusing on social justice.
Video Transcript
GEORGE FANT: The year I got to play with Marshawn for a couple of games, I think it was the San Fran game, where he scored on the 1-yard line or something like that, and all the fans start throwing Skittles onto the field. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life, man.
I looked back to celebrate, and I see a whole thing of Skittles coming on to field. That's probably my craziest Marshawn story. He just I thought it was, like, normal. I think he may have picked some of them up or something like that.
JARED QUAY: What's up, everybody? I'm here with Jets offensive lineman George Fant. George, how are you doing today, brother?
GEORGE FANT: Doing pretty good. How are you doing?
JARED QUAY: I'm doing all right, man. I love offensive linemen, because they're the coolest people, man. But obviously in the NFL, they don't really show them the fame like that, man. You don't really get your face shown a bunch. What other talents do you have besides protecting the quarterback?
GEORGE FANT: I mean, no, that's what it's all come to. You're obviously protecting the quarterback. But I think where you kind of get your name is, is like, in the run game as well, like just being nasty in the run game. Those things like stick out on film, whatever, especially pooling and stuff like that, rolling up a DB, all kind of stuff like that. That's where you get your name at.
JARED QUAY: Well, you know, actually, my older brother is a defensive lineman Calais Campbell. And I think y'all played before, right? I want to know, what's it like to block him, man? Tell me, please. Pancake him for me.
GEORGE FANT: Oh, man, so first off, your brother is huge, probably one of the biggest human beings I've ever seen in my life. But man, I had a funny experience with him. I think my rookie year, I was fresh to playing football. It was new for me. And your brother was, like, the spinner. Like he was, like, the big linebacker kind of walk around guy.
So he's standing maybe six yards back in the linebacker position. We hike the ball, this dude comes sprinting through the B gap with all he got. It was the craziest thing in my life. I don't know how I blocked him, but I got him for a little bit just to get the ball out.
JARED QUAY: You was actually played basketball throughout college. Are you still good at hooping?
GEORGE FANT: I definitely can still play. Every now and then, I try to go out and play a little five on five with some friends. But I definitely don't got it no more like I used to. I'm like, 60 pounds heavier. But I still can dunk. So I'm cool with that.
JARED QUAY: As long as you can dunk, you're good.
GEORGE FANT: As long as I can dunk, I'm good.
JARED QUAY: Basketball players have a certain swag to them. And so do offensive linemen. And they're not the same. So who are you at heart? Are you a basketball player or an offensive lineman?
GEORGE FANT: I'm defineitely a basketball player at heart. I'm still trying to get the swag down for the offensive line. It's different now. I'm not used to being as big as I am right now. So I'm still trying to try things out right now. But I'm getting close, for sure.
JARED QUAY: My editor was like, ask him, does he like the buffet or a club? And that'll tell you you're answer.
GEORGE FANT: Hey, I've been a mix of both, man. As long as the club got a buffet, I'm straight.
JARED QUAY: But there is a couple of players that did come from basketball to the NFL. And so my question to you is who's the best basketballer in the NFL?
GEORGE FANT: Oh, me. I'm going to take that.
JARED QUAY: Over Jimmy Graham?
GEORGE FANT: Over Jimmy. I had this argument with Jimmy some time, definitely taking that over Jimmy. I'm taking that over everybody in the league.
JARED QUAY: You found out your wife, Chastity was also a baller at Western Kentucky, so in a weird way, you're all like a modern day "Love and Basketball," right?
GEORGE FANT: Yeah, that's what you'd call it. She was definitely good. She played here at Western with me for a long time. She was a really good player.
JARED QUAY: What's up? That's what's up.
GEORGE FANT: We definitely was like a modern day "Love and Basketball," kind of thing, though, for sure.
JARED QUAY: You went on to the NFL.
GEORGE FANT: I went on to the NFL.
JARED QUAY: And now let's pivot to a little bit more serious stuff, man. I know you were very outspoken about the deaths of unarmed black people by the hands of police. And have you processed all the things that happened in the summer of 2020 yet?
GEORGE FANT: I don't think you really can completely process it, man. It was a crazy-- you know, it's been crazy years. But it wasn't just 2020. There's been years before that as well. But at this point, you know, everything is kind of coming to light more, like, people are seeing these murders. People are seeing them on social media, now we have those to kind of put stuff up and make it more aware, so using that platform and stuff.
So I think the world is kind of getting to see it more and getting to understanding what's going on. But yeah, 2020 was like-- you know, I'll use the Breonna Taylor thing, murder, for sure, as one of those big key ones for me that kind of woke me up more to bringing it to my platform, to kind of give the whole world to see what happened here in Kentucky with this young Black lady to get killed in her house.
It was unacceptable, and then for those people not to go to jail for doing it is even crazier. So I just try to use that and just use my platform to kind of get the information out, just let people know what's going on here.
JARED QUAY: And do you think the players and using their platform has pushed the NFL into kind of taking a stance and helping out with this problem a little more to?
- We, the National Football League--
- --believe--
- --Black Lives Matter.
- Black Lives Matter.
- Black Lives Matter.
GEORGE FANT: For sure. I mean, like I said, you've got a lot of guys this year. I'm definitely proud of a lot of guys in the NFL who stepped up. We used our platform. If you look at NFL for years, it has been, we've got to sit back and just kind of take what's going on. But you see now a lot of guys are using their voice. A lot of guys aren't scared to say what do they really feel. And that's how it should be.
JARED QUAY: All right, George, man, I appreciate you for coming to "The Rush" with me, man.
GEORGE FANT: I appreaciate that, man. Thanks for having me, man. I appreciate you.
