Why are veteran New York Giants players retiring after training camp brawl?

The New York Giants have seen a weird trending development in their training camp over the last few days.

Zach Fulton announced his retirement from the NFL today, becoming the third player from the Giants to do so in the last four days. Todd Davis, a former linebacker, retired from the league on August 3, and Joe Looney, an offensive lineman, did the same on August 4.

Obviously, it's a concerning trend being seen in New York right now, and it all seems to have started after the brawl that abruptly ended the Giants' practice earlier in the week.

G Zach Fulton has retired from the #Giants, per @TomRock_Newsday. This has been a… strange trend.

— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) August 6, 2021

Brawl breaks out during practice, Judge issues punishment

A brawl broke out involving the entire Giants team following a late hit on running back Corey Clement. Evan Engram and Logan Ryan were accused as guys who started the fight, but the whole team got involved, with quarterback Daniel Jones even jumping on the melee.

New York Giants v Baltimore Ravens

However, coach Joe Judge was livid with the incident. A former New England Patriots coach, Judge has the same practice habits as Bill Belichick: if a player gets into a fight during practice, then his practice is over for the day.

The whole team got involved in the brawl, so the whole team missed the remainder of the practice. Judge said about the incident:

"We had more ball to go. We had two more periods of practice. We had things to accomplish. Those were things that robbed us of an opportunity to keep preparing and robbed players reps and go compete."

However, the day wasn't over for any Giants players, as Judge made them run 100-yard sprints and two sets of pushups as a kind of punishment for the brawl. Before and after the sets, a lot of yelling from the coach was heard by those that were present in camp.

After doing 100 yard runs — and not hard enough for Joe Judge’s liking — players are now lined up on the foal line doing push ups.There is dead silence except for Joe Judge’s whistle and his expletives. … So many expletives.

— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) August 3, 2021

Veterans retiring following brawl punishment

Todd Davis, a linebacker signed over the last weekend, however, announced his retirement from the league on the same day the brawl happened. He stated:

"I had worked really hard to get to a certain point in my career and it kind of felt like people were asking me to start all over. ... I think it’s time for me to move on to other ventures in my life".

Then, Joe Looney also signed with the team at the end of July and didn't last a week with the organization, stating that his body couldn't take the physical demands of the NFL anymore. Zach Fulton, who also is an offensive lineman that was signed to provide depth, retired citing the same issues.

Clearly, the sprints and push-ups that Judge demands are taking a toll on veteran players.