TAMPA, Fla. — Bucs defensive back Carlton Davis apologized for using an anti-Asian slur Sunday night in a since deleted tweet, saying he was unaware of its racial insensitivity.
“Gotta stop letting g---- in Miami,” Davis tweeted at 6:42 p.m. Sunday.
Screenshots had been taken to document the tweet before Davis realized he used a derogatory term and deleted it. There has been an increase in violent assaults against Asians in the United States during the global coronavirus pandemic. The first cases were detected in China and former President Donald Trump often referred to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus.”
At first, Davis became defensive when confronted with his mistake.
“You reporters can look for another story to blow up,” Davis tweeted. “The term was directed toward a producer claiming he “ran Miami.”
“With that said, I will retire that word from my vocabulary given the hard times our Asian family are having.”
Davis tweeted that he would never intentionally offend anyone, saying he believed the word to mean a person is “lame” before learning it had a “much darker and negative connotation.”
“I have learned a valuable lesson and want to apologize to anyone that was offended seeing that word because we need to focus on helping each other during these tough times.”
On Monday afternoon, Bucs general manager Jason Licht said in a statement released by the team that it has been in contact with Davis regarding the tweet.
“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,” Licht said.
“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.”
