TAMPA, Fla. — A tweet from Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis that used an anti-Asian slur has the Super Bowl LV champion on the defense.
In a since-deleted tweet posted on the social media site, Davis, who is a member of his team's social justice board, wrote: "Gotta stop letting g**** in Miami."
In his three-part Twitter apology, Davis said he "would never offend any group of people," and told reporters to look for another story to "blow up."
He claims his understanding of the term was to mean "lame" and that he was unaware of the "much darker, negative connotation" it held. In one of his tweets, he used a screenshot from the website UrbanDictionary to support what he thought the term meant when he used it.
"I have learned a valuable lesson and want to apologize to anyone that was offended by seeing that word because we need to focus on helping each other during these tough times," Davis tweeted.
The cornerback also said that he will be retiring the term from his vocabulary due to the "hard times our Asian family are enduring."
Buccaneers' General Manager Jason Licht addressed the tweets in a statement, saying:
“We have been in communication with Carlton regarding his social media post from Sunday evening. Carlton has been an active member of our Social Justice Player Board over the past two seasons and has played a key role in our organizational support for finding peaceful and productive ways to bring attention to societal issues that have plagued our country for many years. Words carry weight and it is incumbent upon all of us to have a thorough understanding of the words we choose and the effect they may have on others. We look forward to working with Carlton to find appropriate ways to learn from this experience and continue our joint efforts to put an end to all forms of social and racial injustices.”
Davis' use of the slur comes at a time when the nation is seeing heightened attacks on the Asian American community.
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