A Philadelphia Eagles fan caught on video harassing a pair of Green Bay Packers fans and using a misogynistic pejorative has since been fired from his DEI-focused job.
Ryan Caldwell was sitting behind Packers fans Alexander Basara and Aly Keller at the Eagles wild card playoff home victory against the Packers on Sunday. Mr. Caldwell began ribbing the two at the beginning of the game and continued as the contest went on.
Ms. Keller eventually responded with a verbal jab of her own, at which point Mr. Caldwell began insulting her appearance before calling her a “dumb ugly c—-.”
“He was making personal jabs at me. It’s one thing if he’s going, ‘F the Packers,’ or whatever. But he’s talking about my looks the whole time. So, it got personal at that point. … There’s nobody defending me. There’s all Eagles fans allowing this to happen. So, I didn’t want to turn around and yell at this guy and then have my fiancé get jumped in the crowd,” Ms. Keller told WCAU-TV.
Mr. Basara recorded part of the exchange and Mr. Caldwell’s friend, realizing he was on camera, tapped him and let him know, at which point Mr. Caldwell stopped. The video, however, went viral.
An Eagles spokesperson told WCAU-TV that Mr. Caldwell has been banned from the team’s home stadium, Lincoln Financial Field. Mr. Caldwell’s former employer, BCT Partners, also let him go. The company’s self-described mission is to “provide insights about diverse people that lead to equity.”
“In keeping with our company values … we have decided to part company with the employee. This separation is effective immediately. We condemn our former employee’s conduct in the strongest possible terms. This individual’s conduct and language were vile, disgusting, unacceptable, and horrific and have no place in our workplace and society,” BCT Partners said in a statement on social media Tuesday.
For his part, Mr. Caldwell has also offered a public apology.
“What began as banter with two Packers fans sitting near me escalated to something more serious, and I said things that were unacceptable. … 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,” Mr. Caldwell told the New York Post.
He added, however, that the partial clip recorded and uploaded by Mr. Basara “does not reflect the full context of what transpired … my actions were not without provocation.”
The Eagles beat the Packers 22-10 and advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. They will play the visiting Los Angeles Rams Sunday for the chance to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.