Former Dallas Cowboys executive Gil Brandt sparked a massive social media backlash Saturday over comments he made about the tragic death of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
Haskins, 24, was killed after he was hit by a dump truck Saturday morning on Interstate 595 near Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
News of his death quickly spread on social media, as fans, coaches and fellow players mourned “the loss of a great player” and “a truly great friend,” while also honoring the life and career of a “phenomenal teammate, person and friend.”
But after Brandt was asked about Haskins on NFL Radio on Saturday, several people took to social media to express outrage at the 90-year-old Hall-of-Famer’s “completely inappropriate” comments, which quickly went viral after they were shared on Twitter by NBC Sports’ Pete Damilatis.
“I hate anytime anybody is killed or anybody dies. But he was a guy who was living to be dead,” he told Vic Carucci and Dan Leberfeld of Sirius XM NFL Radio.
“They told him don’t, under any circumstances, leave school early. You just don’t have the work habits. You don’t have this, you don’t have that. What did he do? He left school early,” he said.
“Maybe if he stayed in school a year he wouldn’t do silly things [like] jogging on a highway,” he added.
Reactions came in swiftly and fiercely.
On Saturday afternoon, hours after the initial backlash, Brandt apologized for his “poor choice of words.”
“This morning while learning of Dwayne Haskins’ passing, I reacted carelessly and insensitively on a radio interview,” he tweeted.
“I want to apologize to Mr. Haskins’ family and anyone who heard my poor choice of words. I truly apologize. My heart goes out to his family at this difficult time,” he added.
The apology wasn’t been universally accepted.
While some agreed that “people make mistakes,” some social media users were left wondering if Brandt was the person who actually wrote the tweet, while others said that it simply wasn’t enough.
“Sorry, I do not forgive you,” wrote Twitter user L. Sue Szabo. “You said what you said.”
“No way a 90-year-old tweeted this,” wrote Twitter user Daniel Moore. “But a 90-year-old definitely said what he said on the radio.”
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