Terrelle Pryor made a few headlines on Wednesday after TMZ Sports shared video of him flipping off a fan, but it turns out the fan’s alleged actions were worse.
The Washington wide receiver responded to the story via Instagram Wednesday. Pryor posted a written note on his Instagram story in which he says he was called the N-word and the F-word, leading to the middle finger response.
Here’s what Pryor wrote on his Instagram story. We have censored the N-word.
“Being called a N—– several times to the point where an NFL employee had to step to me and stand by me the whole game from 2nd quarter on is the exact reason why guys are kneeling during anthem. I choose not to kneel because as a team we decided to be one and stand … but as I walked in tunnel hearing some one call me a n—- and say F you to me..me flicking the person off is more deserving. 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.”
A separate video shared by TMZ shows people saying “f— you” and “f— Ohio State” to Pryor, who seemed to flip them off in response.
Regardless of how upset he was, Pryor’s mistake was responding to the hecklers, because now he’s become the subject of media headlines. His actions were not an appropriate response and have made him look bad.
Athletes should know to ignore the hecklers. And if hecklers are inappropriate, as those in the video clearly were, athletes should tell security so they can eject the fans. Or better yet, they should ask for the fans to be identified and tell the fans’ employers to get them in trouble at work if they really want to teach a lesson.
