Umenyiora Meets Media Day After Fine

New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora spoke to the media Thursday after he was fined $20,000 for not talking to them a day before.

Umenyiora explained his Wednesday absence, and expressed regret that it had become an issue leading up to Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots.

"We had Media Day the day before, and (we) sat up there for all those hours, and we didn't have a practice, we didn't have anything," Umenyiora said.

"We just had to come back the next morning, so I wasn't exactly sure we had to be back there to discuss the exact same things we discussed the day before without actually having a practice."

Umenyiora said he understood Giants coach Tom Coughlin would not be pleased but pointed out that he did not, and would not, miss any team meetings or practices.

"Nobody cares, because it's not like I missed anything team-related ... but obviously nobody wants to [be] sitting over here answering questions about that," Umenyiora said. "So that might cause some sort of distraction, but it's a non-issue."

The pass rusher said he spent Wednesday morning with his family and did not know he had missed anything mandatory until he returned to his hotel prior to a Giants team meeting.

"It was a big mistake I made," Umenyiora said. "... If I would have known that this is what would have come of it, there's no way I wouldn't have been here." Read more: NYPost