Redskins WR Pryor says he was racially taunted; NFL to investigate
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington Redskins wide receiver Terrelle Pryor runs past Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Ron Parker during the second half of a game in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 2. Pryor said he was called racial slurs from the crowd during the game, and the NFL is looking into the incident.
Washington Redskins receiver Terrelle Pryor said he was called racial slurs from the crowd during a Oct. 2 game at Kansas City, and the NFL said today that it was looking into the incident.
On his way out of the game, Pryor made an obscene gesture to the crowd, which he said was motivated by the slurs.
A brief video published by TMZ Sports shows the scene after the confrontation had started. It revealed obscene words and gestures on both sides, but no racial slurs are clearly audible.
“We are looking into all aspects of it, and we will report back when we have concluded that review,” Joe Lockhart, an NFL spokesman, told NBC. “We have no tolerance for racial comments directed to anyone. Those fans are not welcome to come back this week, next week, or any time.”
On Instagram on Oct. 4, Pryor said that he was called the slur multiple times. He said that as a result, an NFL employee stood next to him from the second quarter on.
He wrote that such incidents were “the exact reason why guys are kneeling during anthem.”
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“Me flicking the person off is more deserving,” he wrote. “I do apologize to my teammates and the organization. But at some point you keep calling us the N-word, we going to start acting up.”
Race has been a major issue for the NFL this year, with many players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial discrimination and police brutality. President Donald Trump has weighed in, scolding those who do not stand.
Pryor stood for the anthem on Oct. 2 — “I chose not to kneel because as a team we decided to be one and stand,” he wrote — but at least two Chiefs players did not. The Chiefs won the game, 29-20.
Pryor, 28, was a quarterback at Ohio State and initially in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders, then converted to wide receiver with the Cleveland Browns. He was briefly a member of the Chiefs, but he did not get in a game.
In May, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones was racially taunted by some fans in Boston. He received an extended ovation from Red Sox fans the next night.
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