(New York City)  A rookie tight end with the New York Giants says he was "set up" to go on a rambling anti-gay rant on the Howard Stern radio show.

During the interview, earlier this month, Stern asked Jeremy Shockey if he thought there were any gay players in the NFL.

"I don't know," Shockey said. "I don't like to think about that. I hope not."

He was then asked if he had any gay teammates when he played at the University of Miami.

"No," he said. "I mean, if I knew there was a gay guy on my college football team, I probably wouldn't, you know, stand for it. You know, I think, you know, they're going to be in the shower with us and stuff, so I don't think that's going to work."

Shockley, who was pulled into the Giants front office immediately after the interview, issued an apology Thursday but says doesn't understand all the fuss.

"It's a show just for comedy," Shockey said in an interview with the New York Daily News.

"I guess I do regret saying it. I didn't think anyone was going to make a big deal out of it. I'm not prejudiced against anybody's beliefs or what they do in their off time. I do regret saying something like that. Whatever I did to offend people, I apologize. I'm not prejudiced in any way."

Shockley, who hails from Oklahoma, said: "The show is at 7:30 in the morning and it's just to entertain people that just woke up. I definitely wouldn't say anything like that on a more serious show, like `20/20.'"

He claims that the whole incident was Stern's fault.

"It's Howard Stern. He sets you up in bad situations. I'll know next time."

The Giants management says it tried to stop Shockey from appearing on the show in the first place.  The football club has distanced itself from the comments.

"Those views don't represent the views of our organization," said Pat Hanlon, the Giants VP of communications.

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