Buccaneers CB Apologizes for Tweeting Anti-Asian Slur

A Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback posted a tweet containing an anti-Asian slur Sunday night and [...]

A Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback posted a tweet containing an anti-Asian slur Sunday night and has since apologized. Carlton Davis, 24, said he didn't realize the hurtful meaning behind the slur when shared the post on Twitter. In the now-deleted tweet, Davis wrote: "Gotta stop letting g— in Maimi."

"I would never offend any group of people," Davis wrote in a tweet while also sharing an image from an undisclosed slang dictionary entry. "You reporters can look for another story to blow up. The term was directed towards a producer claiming he 'ran Miami' With that being said I'll retire that word from my vocabulary giving the hard times our Asian family are enduring. I used a term that from where I come from has always meant 'lame' but I did not realize it has a much darker, negative connotation. 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."

This comes just weeks after a man in Atlanta was arrested for killing eight people in three spas or massage parlors in the metro area. Of those eight people, six were Asian women. According to the Center for Study of Hate and Extremism (via ESPN), hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen nearly 150% in major U.S. cities over the last year.

In June 2020, Davis opened up about his experiences as a Black man and police drawing guns on him, his brother and his friends when was 14 or 15 years old. "It was very traumatizing. It was so unexpected," he said. "To kind of live on eggshells and have to be very cautious around your own community is not an ideal way to live. That definitely does something to your psyche as far as your everyday living and how you go about making your choices as far as going to the store or driving and when the police pops up, what are you doing and how are you driving?"

Davis was selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the NFL Draft in 2018. He had a breakout season in 2020, posting 68 tackles, four interceptions and 18 passes defended while helping his team win the Super Bowl in February.

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