He stereotypes QB's fans as 'people with American flags and dogs.' Then EPSN host gets put on blast by Buffalo Bills players.
After blatantly stereotyping fans of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen as "people with American flags and dogs," ESPN host Domonique Foxworth got earful from a couple of Bills players.
What's the background?
Foxworth — a former NFL cornerback — uttered his regrettable words during a chat with ESPN's Bomani Jones a few days ago. According to Western Journal, Foxworth noted that "I am fully aware that I have biases; and my biases are not based on Josh Allen" — and then he proceeded to rip Allen's fans.
Here's the audio:
Cancel Dominique Foxworth @espn https://t.co/b8pxTiLYWc— TheBillsGuys (@TheBillsGuys)1607716612.0
"It's based on the people that are defending Josh Allen. I would be 100% lying if I said that when Josh does something dumb, a little part of me doesn't get happy. ... It's because the people who are telling me that Josh is the Second Coming, and Josh is better than everybody are people with American flags and dogs and skull and crossbones. … If you go just take a dip into their tweet history, it's some really concerning retweets and likes. … It's not about Josh," Foxworth said.
Foxworth added that "generally, I'm pro-player, and I'm looking for ways to understand a player's position and defend a player. But in Josh's case, it's not about him. He is the ground on which we are fighting," Western Journal also noted.
For context it may help to keep in mind that the Bills are one of only six NFL teams with a majority of fans who are Republicans, the outlet added, citing FiveThirtyEight.
Foxworth took a bit of a licking for his stereotype against Allen's fans, with one commenter saying, "Damn this has to be the most f***ed up sports take I've ever heard. Is he insinuating that all Bills fans are racist, or am I reading into this wrong?" Another observer declared, "Get that racist douche bag Foxworth off the air. No place for his comments ... Imagine if a white dude said something equally disgusting about [black NFL quarterback] Lamar Jackson? Whitey would have been fired immediately! ESPN SUCKS!"
Bills' players aren't happy, either
A couple of Bills' players — safety Jordan Poyer and guard Jonathan Feliciano — also got in Foxworth's face over his criticism of Allen's fans.
Hold up bruh... 🧐we not jus letting this slide, yeah?! @espn this what we on now in the sports world!? @Foxworth24… https://t.co/j7ymktn6DD— Jordan poyer (@Jordan poyer)1608154880.0
"Hold up bruh," Poyer tweeted. "we not jus letting this slide, yeah?! @espn this what we on now in the sports world!? @Foxworth24 we gotta do better my brother... cause this ain't it."
Feliciano also hit back at Foxworth:
ay @Foxworth24 are you talking about the fans that just raise over 700k for a hospital during a pandemic? Ppl do/sa… https://t.co/jhJLyJi9hT— Jonathan Feliciano (@Jonathan Feliciano)1608151845.0
"Are you talking about the fans that just raise over 700k for a hospital during a pandemic?" Feliciano asked the ESPN host. "Ppl do/say the corniest things to try n get ahead."
What did Foxworth have to say?
Foxworth replied to Poyer's tweet and said his comments about Allen's fans were "taken out of context," and — presumably to make peace — he even added a waving American flag to his post:
Feel free to DM me, listen to the full podcast, or ignore this foolishness all together and get back to ballin. Bes… https://t.co/Vv3hfkCRjj— Domonique Foxworth (@Domonique Foxworth)1608162914.0
"Nobody I respect has taken this seriously, so I've been ignoring it," Foxworth wrote Wednesday. "And getting taken out of context kinda comes with my job, so I haven't been trippin. But I respect you and the ppl in your building and it bothers that y'all have spent 1 sec thinking about this disingenuous BS."
He added, "Feel free to DM me, listen to the full podcast, or ignore this foolishness all together and get back to ballin. Best of luck to you and my new favorite QB."