The Cleveland Browns organization has
repudiated linebacker Ricky “Tank” Carder, Jr.'s use of a gay
slur on Twitter.
The 23-year-old Carder apologized on
Tuesday for tweeting “your a faggot for that” to a follower but
not before defending himself.
When Because I'm a Guy tweeted, “Trying
to betray all your teammates as soon as the game ends” last week,
Carder responded: “@causewereguys unfollowed...your a faggot for
that.” (This tweet has since been deleted.)
One follower attempted to intervene,
“@tankcarder I think he means in Call of Duty Tank.”
“@CoachSavino yea they all getting
butt hurt, and they are just chiming in,” Carder tweeted on Monday.
“Preciate it bro!”
“@craigcraiglife I don't agree with
being gay or lesbian at all, but saying faggot doesn't make me a
homophobe, it's just a word.”
After tweeting, “Stay
unapologetically strong,” Carder messaged a non-apology: “If I
offended in anyway, I do apologize, thought the guy was bashing team
sports, big misunderstanding.”
On Tuesday, he added, “I want to
sincerely apologize for the word I used! I did not in anyway mean to
offend anyone! That tweet doesn't define me as a person!” and “I
was not bashing the gay community in any way … if you knew me you
would know I wouldn't do that. Again I'm sorry if you were
offended.”
The Browns organization distanced
itself from Carder's message in a statement.
“These comments are certainly not
reflective of the Cleveland Browns organization, nor do we condone
them in any fashion. We have spoken with Tank and have made this
very clear to him.”
In an open letter to Carder, a Texas
Christian University (TCU) alum, published on Outsports.com, former
TCU linebacker Vince Pryor said he was “disappointed in the lack of
understanding you've shown in the effect your words can have on young
athletes who consider you a role model.”
“As a public figure and a
representative of both TCU and the NFL, your words have power,
especially for young athletes who happen to be gay,” Pryor
wrote. “When I was an athlete at TCU, I lived in fear for many
years over what would happen if my coaches or teammates learned that
I was gay.”