Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis apologized Sunday night roughly two hours after he tweeted an anti-Asian slur. Davis wrote “Gotta stop letting g***s in Miami,” at 6:42 p.m. ET and then deleted the post shortly after but screenshots were captured.
Davis tweeted an apology at 9:01 p.m. ET and explained he didn’t know it was an anti-Asian slur but thought it meant someone who was “lame.” The 24-year-old also tweeted what he thought it was a word used in South Florida and said he would remove it from his vocabulary.
Davis, who went to high school in Miami, added that he never meant to hurt anyone during a time when violence and racism against Asians is high.
“I used a term that from where I come from has always meant ‘lame,’ but I did not realize it had a much darker, negative connotation,” he said in the Tweet. “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.”
Following Davis’ remarks, the Asian American Journalists Association Sports Task Force issued a statement in response, calling the word a “hateful slur” while acknowledging Davis’ apology.
“Earlier today, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Carlton Davis posted a tweet that included a derogatory term historically used to refer to Asians in the early 1900s,” the statement read. “The Asian American Journalists Association Sports Task Force is disappointed by his sentiment, especially at a time when Asians in the United States are experiencing a sharp increase in anti-Asian hate which has resulted in harassment and attacks…We also acknowledge Davis’ apology and look forward to seeing how he will help the affected communities.”
