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Sanchez donates to soup kitchen
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Published: October 29, 2009
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Mark Sanchez is hot-dogging it again.
This time Sanchez, the New York Jets' rookie quarterback, isn't sneaking a snack on the sideline, though. Sanchez bought 500 hot dogs and 500 hamburgers, along with buns and rolls, through the A&P supermarket chain, and donated them to the Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown, N.J.
"Something happened here and I wanted to turn it into a positive," Sanchez said yesterday.
Sanchez was grilled on Sunday after television cameras caught him trying to discreetly put mustard on a hot dog and eat it late in New York's 38-0 win at Oakland. He apologized after the game, saying he didn't feel well and needed to eat something.
"I didn't mean it as a form of disrespect," Sanchez said, adding that the incident served as a reminder that his actions on and off the field will be scrutinized as an NFL quarterback.
"I wasn't trying to take away from anything the team had going on," he said. "People have gotten some laughs out of it and we all kind of joked about it, but it's one of those things that I definitely need to learn from and it was a mistake. It won't happen again."
He also wouldn't reveal who served him up the frankfurter that landed him in hot water.
"I can't roll over on my hot-dog connect," he said with a grin.
Coach Rex Ryan said he was "disappointed" with Sanchez, and realizes that Sanchez didn't mean to be disrespectful -- although that's how it appeared to some.
"To me, I'm an old-school football guy and you're playing a great game of football. I know you're hungry, but leave that for the fans," Ryan said. "You can go to the locker room and you can eat afterward. You know, hey, that's not the biggest mistake he's ever going to make."
Ryan said he spoke to Sanchez about the incident on the flight home, and was pleased about the plan that Sanchez cooked up.
"It is unfortunate that here we have a great game, run for 300-some yards -- breakout game -- 38-to-zip score, get a shutout and now the focus is on the hot dog," Ryan said. "I think Mark is doing the right thing with the plans that he has."
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