Police investigating racist graffiti in Giants player's home

MOONACHIE, N.J. (AP) - Police are investigating a break-in and the scrawling of racist graffiti at the New Jersey home of a New York Giants player.

The break-in at Nikita Whitlock's home is being investigated as a hate crime, Moonachie police Sgt. Richard Behrens told The Record (http://bit.ly/2h0klFN ). Jewelry and electronics were also stolen, he said.

Whitlock, who's black, showed reporters the graffiti - "KKK," a swastika and other racial slurs - on multiple walls inside his family's home. The name "Trump" was also written on the wall in marker.

Whitlock is a fullback on the injured reserve list with a foot injury. He was suspended for 10 games without pay in September for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances.

"They broke in, they vandalized, they shared their opinion - they could have shared it on Facebook, but they decided to share it in this fashion," he told The Record on Thursday. "I think the one thing that does disturb me more is the fact that people are using (President-elect Donald) Trump's name. To me, it's like, OK, you believe Trump believes certain things. But he wasn't here. This was a personal decision, not a Trump decision. So next time, write your name on the wall."

Police believe Whitlock's home was broken into Tuesday night. The side door window was cracked, and the metal wiring was mangled.

Whitlock, who lives with his wife, 6-year-old son and 4-month-old daughter, told the newspaper there was an attempted break in three weeks ago and it feels "like somebody was definitely trying to get us."

Whitlock said his family and friends were stunned.

"I'm one of the last people you think this would happen to," he said. "I'm in a nice area, I make good money, I keep to myself and I'm not flashy. . Instead of coming close to home, they came inside. I have a lot of peers and a lot of family and people in my circle who don't believe these kinds of things can happen to them or to me or to us."

Police are asking neighbors for any security camera video.

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Information from: The Record (Woodland Park, N.J.), http://www.northjersey.com