TAMPA, Florida. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers corner Carlton Davis sent a tweet containing an anti-Asian insult Sunday night and has since apologized, saying he did not realize the deeply damaging meaning of the term.
“I have to stop leaving it in Miami,” Carlton wrote in the deleted tweet since then.
Davis, 24, apologized for using the slur in later tweets and said he thought the term meant “lame.”
“I would never offend any group of people,” Davis said he wrote in a tweet accompanied by an image of an undisclosed slang dictionary entry. “Journalists can look for another story to exploit. The term was addressed to a producer who claimed he was ‘directing Miami.’
“I’ve used a term where I come from has always meant ‘lame,’ but I haven’t realized it has a much darker, more negative connotation. I’ve learned a valuable lesson and I want to apologize to anyone who has offended to see that word because we have to focus on helping each other in these difficult times. “
According to a recent report by the Center for the Study of Hate Extremism, hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased nearly 150 percent in major U.S. cities over the past year, with several incidents in recent days.
Davis has spoken out against racism in the past and about his experiences as a black man. He became part of Bucs ’social justice board, meeting with community leaders last summer to discuss ways the police can establish better relationships with the black community.