CC Sabathia, Justin Tuck
ESNY Graphic, Getty Images

Former New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck had some high praise for New York Yankees lefty CC Sabathia at his charity event.

NEW YORK, NY—Two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck knows a thing or two about being a New York sports icon.

He’ll always be praised for helping lead a New York Giants defense that knocked off Tom Brady and the New England Patriots twice in four years in the Super Bowl (XLII, XLVI).

Speaking at the CC Sabathia PitCCh In Foundation LegaCCy Gala in Manhattan honoring the legendary career of Sabathia, Tuck had high praise for the Yankees legend.

“CC is someone I grew up watching,” Tuck said. “I’m a huge Yankee fan. Lucky to get him from some other teams. He just seems to be a true Yankee and he should’ve been here from the start. Just a big fan of what he’s accomplished on and off the baseball field.” 

Tuck and Sabathia also bonded during Tuck’s time with the Oakland Raiders (2014-15). Sabathia is actually (keep it on the down-low) a die-hard Raiders fan.

Asking the hard-hitting questions, it got me thinking. Tuck was a defensive end in the NFL (6-foot-5, 265 lbs). Sabathia (6-foot-6, 300 lbs) is one of the biggest professional athletes in all of professional baseball.

So … who would win a wrestling match between CC and Tuck?

“I’m out of profession now,” Tuck said. “He still gets to work out on a day-to-day basis. I’m sitting at a desk looking at portfolios every day now so I’d have to give him the upper hand.”

After an 11-year career in the NFL, Tuck is now a Vice President in personal wealth management at Goldman Sachs. He attended the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and pursued a second career in finance.

The Giants are currently 0-2 on the season. After falling 35-17 to the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener at Jerry World, Big Blue dropped their home opener 28-14 at Metlife Stadium. He spent nine seasons in New York from 2005-13.

His pass rush on the outside could probably help the G-men just like it did during those SB runs.

“I am a FAN just like everyone else here is now. I did my time and had some success.”


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