Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson apologized for using an offensive term during the Thursday Night Football postgame show after his team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 29-28, on Thursday, December 11.
“Hey everyone I want to apologize for the insensitive comment I made in the broadcast, it was a football game we used to play as a kid but that’s not an excuse,” he wrote via X early Friday morning. “I recognize the mistake and make sure to do better in the future. It was not reflective of my beliefs and I am so sorry to those I offended seriously!”
Robinson, 23, was giving an interview with the Prime Video broadcast team when he was asked about playing backyard football.
“You had a play where they threw it to you, Bijan, they threw it to you in the backfield, you made the first one miss, then legged three people,” analyst Richard Sherman said. “And I said, this boy grew up in the backyard.”
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“Smear the q****, that’s what we do,” Robinson responded, referring to a common backyard game of keepaway often played with a football.
Ryan Fitzgerald, also on the broadcast crew, quickly jumped in, referring to the game by one of its other names, Kill the Carrier.
While the phrase Robinson used is a common way to refer to the game, it also uses an outdated term for the LGBTQIA+ community that is often used in a homophobic way, causing some fans to take issue with his comment.
Robinson was the game’s leading rusher, going for 93 yards on 19 carries with a critical touchdown in the fourth quarter that helped Atlanta erase a 28-14 deficit.
The comeback spurred a fiery, expletive-filled rant from Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles after the game.
“It’s inexcusable. You don’t make excuses,” Bowles said in his postgame press conference. “You got to f***ing care enough where the s*** hurts. You got to f***ing care enough where the s*** hurts. It got to f***ing mean something to you. It’s more than a job, it’s your f***ing livelihood. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You can’t sugarcoat that s***.”
He continued, “It was f***ing inexcusable. There’s no f***ng answer for it. No excuse for it. That’s what you tell ’em in the locker room. Look in the f***ing mirror.”
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In the other locker room, Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins took a minute to reflect on his last couple years. After signing a $180 million contract with Atlanta prior to the 2024 season, he was benched late in the year in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. He threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns on Thursday.
“Pro football tests you,” Cousins, 37, said. “It keeps me on my knees [in prayer]. It’s been a difficult two years since tearing my Achilles. All I know to do is trust and keep going and walk by faith, not by sight, and that can be hard sometimes. Nights like tonight, you get a boost.”
The Falcons are now 5-9 on the season and have already been eliminated from playoff contention. They have three games remaining in their season, beginning on Sunday, December 21, in Arizona against the Cardinals.