A Trump sports curse might have touched Gotham, again.
Jaxson Dart's sophomore season is over after suffering a knee injury during the New York Giants' first offensive drive of the "Monday Night Football" game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 21.
The Giants quarterback will undergo surgery to repair damage to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and meniscus in his left knee, The Record – a part of the USA TODAY Network – reported on Sept. 23, citing a person familiar with the situation.
Fans on social media have pointed to a potential curse tied to President Donald Trump in the wake of the injury.
Dart introduced Trump at a May 22 rally, which drew backlash from teammates and forced the second-year quarterback to address the team on May 27
during OTAs, according to reports at the time.
The president has been blamed for losses ranging from Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final to the lone loss of the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Here's what to know about Dart's appearance with Trump and the potential Trump sports curse:
What happened at the Trump rally
Dart spoke ahead of Trump at a rally for Republican Rep. Mike Lawler saying it was a "honor" and "privilege." The president routinely mentioned Dart in the speech, calling him a "beautiful guy" with "legs like tree trunks."
Giants outside linebacker Abul Carter wrote "Thought this (expletive) was AI," in a May 23 social media repost of Dart's introduction that has since been deleted. "What we doing man," he said. Carter later said on social media that the two "spoke earlier as Men" and were "good."
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that Dart addressed the team on the second day of the second session of the team's OTA practices. The specifics of the conversation were not disclosed, but Rapoport reported team leaders, including Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jameis Winston, spoke in addition to Dart.
Garafolo reported that the team "worked through" the issue during the meeting and that the team was "moving forward" at the time.
Trump continued to praise Dart in an interview with Fox News. "Well, first of all, I wish I looked just like Jaxson," Trump said on in a clip from the May 30 episode of "My View with Lara Trump." "He's this guy. I said, is he a male model or what? He's a handsome guy, like a beautiful guy, and a conservative guy."
He added that Dart told him "I love you, sir," when the pair shared the stage.
Other potential Trump curse examples
Examples of a potential Trump sports curse have occurred throughout his second term across multiple sports.
During the 2026 World Cup fans blamed him for Argentina's loss after he praised Lionel Messi in a pre-match interview and disparaged Spain during the second day of the NATO summit. He attended the game and was booed when he stepped onto the field to present the trophies for the tournament.
Earlier in the tournament Trump was blamed for the U.S. men's national team flameout against Belgium. The game followed Trump asking FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the controversial red card issued to forward Folarin Balogun during the U.S.'s round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. FIFA suspended Balogun's one-game ban, allowing the star striker to play in the eventual end to the co-host's World Cup run.
The Belgian Football Association mocked the decision on social media after the dominant victory, posting an image of Romalu Lukaku's celebration after the fourth goal and saying, "overturn this."
Fans of the Knicks accused Trump of placing a "curse" on the team after he attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the only game in the series they lost. That caused some fans to "cleanse" Madison Square Garden. Kazeem Famuyide, an Emmy award-winning host for the Knicks' podcast "Big Apple Buckets," posted video of him and his friends holding sage outside of MSG.
In November 2025, Trump attended a Washington Commanders game during which the Detroit Lions defeated the Commanders, 44-22. During the victory, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown celebrated a touchdown with the "Trump Dance," for which he apologized. The Lions collapsed after the victory against the Commanders, losing five of their last eight games and missed the playoffs.
Former NFL wide receiver Kenny Stills responded to a social media post of the Lions' record following the Commanders game by saying "Trump curse."
In February of that year, Trump called the U.S. team in the Four Nations Faceoff ahead of the tournament's finals. They went on to lose to Canada, 3-2.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Fernando Cervantes, Kinsey Crowley, Jacob Camenker, Nate Davis, Nick Brinkerhoff – USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jaxson Dart's injury reignites Trump sports curse possibility
