The Philadelphia Eagles fan seen on a viral video hurling vicious, abusive comments at a female Green Bay Packers fan is defending himself after being fired from his “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) job.
The Philly fan, who used the fake leftist pronouns of “they/them” for his job, is now speaking out and has apologized, but also defended himself and said he was “provoked.”
Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell has released a statement about the incident and his personal plight. He is insisting there are “two sides” to the story of his distempered attack on a woman during the NFC Wild Card game on January 12.
“While attending an NFL game last Sunday to support my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret,” Caldwell said in a statement on Wednesday, according to The New York Post.
“What began as banter with two Packers fans sitting near me escalated to something more serious, and I said things that were unacceptable. In the heat of the moment, I chose unforgiving words to address one of the fans, Ms. Ally Keller.”
He said, “I want to sincerely apologize to Ms. Keller for those words, and to my wife, family, and friends, my former employer and colleagues, Packer fans, Eagle fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the City of Philadelphia, and all who were offended. That said, there are two sides to every story.
“The video clip circulating online does not reflect the full context of what transpired, and my actions were not without provocation. I will live with this experience, and I am certainly paying a personal price. For those who don’t know me, this incident does not reflect my values or the respect I have for others and is not indicative of the person I am,” Caldwell insisted.
The viral video showed Caldwell hurling the C-word at a female Packers fan and also calling her ugly and dumb.
WATCH:
What it's like going to Philly just trying to root for your team...
— Alexander Basara (@Basaraski) January 13, 2025
Unprovoked, uncalled for. Packers twitter, help me out and find this guy.... this is not okay
I hate that my fiancé had this happen simply cheering for her team pic.twitter.com/aiHCKzxrSS
The abusive fan was later identified as Caldwell, and it was discovered that he worked for a DEI consulting firm in New Jersey. That firm, BCT Partners, quickly announced that it had launched an investigation into Caldwell’s actions at the game, and soon enough, the company confirmed that he had been fired from his job.
Not only was Caldwell fired, but he has now suffered a permanent ban from Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field and will never be allowed to see his favorite team again.
Caldwell did not get much support from social media users:
So Ryan Caldwell is saying he is provoked by a woman speaking loudly in his presence. Maybe he should consider moving to AFGANISTAN.
— JuliaW7 (@juliaw7_wood) January 15, 2025
She provoked me by being a packers fan haha pos response
— Cyber Pooh (@Winnie_da_Chris) January 15, 2025
Tell me how you apologize without really apologizing
— margaret md🗽 (@margaretmdougl1) January 15, 2025
Just when I was feeling sorry for the guy for losing his job. What a piece of crap. I guess an apology was too tough for him w/out deflecting. No big surprise, though, typical Philly fan.
— Branner (@Branner68) January 15, 2025
The Eagles will battle the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday for the right to enter the NFC championship game.
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