Tom Coughlin looking into video

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New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he will look into an Internet video in which defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul dumps Prince Amukamara into an ice tub in what appeared to be a prank played on the cornerback.

The video, which was tweeted by punter Steve Weatherford and contains harsh language, shows several Giants players following Pierre-Paul, who carried Amukamara on his shoulder to the area where players ice down in tubs.

Pierre-Paul then throws Amukamara head-first into the tub, which appeared to be made of plastic or rubber. Amukamara, who didn't put up a struggle while on Pierre-Paul's shoulder, appears upset after emerging from the tub. Pierre-Paul then curses and uses insensitive language before high-fiving a teammate as he makes it sound as if he was putting Amukamara in his place with the hijinks.

Coughlin did not sound thrilled to learn of the video.

"I'm learning about that today," Coughlin said in a conference call with reporters Sunday afternoon. "I really didn't have any information about that until maybe an hour before this conference call. I am going to look into it and talk to the parties involved.

"There may have ... as I'm understanding it, there were some parts of it that were inappropriate. In no way is anything that occurs within this family or within our group should that be a part of any social media aspect. So I am going to address that strongly because I spent a little time on that this preseason. I will look into that further."

Weatherford apologized for posting the video via his Twitter account Sunday.

“

In no way is anything that occurs within this family or within our group should that be a part of any social media aspect. So I am going to address that strongly because I spent a little time on that this preseason.

” -- Giants coach Tom Coughlin

"I want to apologize to the fans... The video I posted was distasteful," Weatherford tweeted. "Our team is a family, and we love each other. I am sorry to the fans."

Amukamara, 23, was the subject of rookie hazing last season, including having his tie and dress shirt cut before a road trip.

"Yeah, um, well, I mean, I just don't get it. I don't understand the rules," Amukamara told the Newark Star-Ledger on Saturday night after the Giants beat the Jets, 26-3. "I mean, I'm not a rookie anymore, so I don't know why I'm getting thrown in the tub. I know it's all love.

"Yeah, no one ever likes it, especially when it's you versus eight and no one's helping you. But it doesn't mess up our team morale or anything."

Amukamara, the team's 2011 first-round draft pick, sometimes resisted or did not go along with pranks and locker-room hijinks last year while other rookies usually took them.

During the video, several Giants players can be heard shouting as Pierre-Paul is carrying Amukamara.

"Prince, what you doing, fool?" one player shouted.

After Amukamara lands in the ice tub, another player tells Amukamara to "stand up for yourself."

"Sometimes I think they take it overboard just because they're vets they get to be mean about it and tell you what to do," Amukamara said in an interview last season with the Newark Star-Ledger. "I just kind of flipped the whole script and kind of had fun with it with being insubordinate a little bit just so it can be more playful, and I think that that whole vibe just creates a great locker room atmosphere."

Amukamara is now the starting cornerback opposite Corey Webster with Terrell Thomas rehabbing an injured right knee.

Pierre-Paul, 23, was the team's first-round pick in 2010. He has emerged into one of the best defensive players in the NFL after having 16.5 sacks last season.

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Ohm Youngmisuk

ESPNNewYork.com

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Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
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