Buffalo Bills players Jordan Poyer and Jon Feliciano are defending fans of Bills quarterback Josh Allen after ESPN commentator and former NFL player Domonique Foxworth mocked them for having “American flags” and “dogs” on their social media.
Scrolling through the fans’ social media accounts, Foxworth said, is “very concerning.”
“Hold up bruh… we not jus letting this slide, yeah?! [ESPN] this what we on now in the sports world!?” reacted Jordan Poyer. [Domonique Foxworth] we gotta do better my brother… cause this ain’t it.”
Hold up bruh… 🧐we not jus letting this slide, yeah?! @espn this what we on now in the sports world!? @Foxworth24 we gotta do better my brother… cause this ain’t it https://t.co/xsAHO6hiqH
— Jordan poyer (@J_poyer21) December 16, 2020
Feliciano reacted, “Ay [Domonique Foxworth] are you talking about the fans that just raise over 700k for a hospital during a pandemic? Ppl do/say the corniest things to try n get ahead.”
ay @Foxworth24 are you talking about the fans that just raise over 700k for a hospital during a pandemic? Ppl do/say the corniest things to try n get ahead
— Jonathan Feliciano (@MongoFeliciano) December 16, 2020
Bills fans donated over $700,000 to Oishei Children’s Hospital in honor of Josh Allen’s grandmother, according to a November report.
Foxworth reacted to Poyer out of “respect.”
“Nobody I respect has taken this seriously so I’ve been ignoring it,” he wrote. “And getting taken out of context kinda comes with my job, so I haven’t been trippin. But I respect you and the ppl in your building and it bothers that yall have spent 1 sec thinking about this disingenuous BS.”
“Feel free to [direct message] me, listen to the full podcast, or ignore this foolishness all together and get back to ballin,” he added. “Best of luck to you and my new favorite QB.”
Feel free to DM me, listen to the full podcast, or ignore this foolishness all together and get back to ballin. Best of luck to you and my new favorite QB. pic.twitter.com/h12nu6fzTi
— Domonique Foxworth (@Foxworth24) December 16, 2020
“I am fully aware that I have biases,” Foxworth said Tuesday on ESPN podcast “The Right Time with Bomani Jones.”
“And my biases are not based on Josh Allen. It’s based on the people that are defending Josh Allen,” the former footballer continued. “I would be 100% lying if I said that when Josh does something dumb, a little part of me doesn’t get happy. And it’s not because I don’t want Josh to succeed.”
“It’s because the people who are telling me that Josh is the second coming and Josh is better than everybody are people with American flags and dogs and skulls and crossbones,” said Foxworth. “… And then if you go just take a dip into their tweet history, it’s some really concerning retweets and likes.”
“It’s not about Josh,” he emphasized. “… Generally, I’m pro-player and I’m looking for ways to understand a player’s position and defend a player. But in Josh’s case, it’s not about him. He is the ground on which we are fighting.”
The comments drew criticism from Bills fans and political commentators. David Hookstead at The Daily Caller, for example, suggested Foxworth’s comments implied that Bills’ fans are “racist bigots.”
“[W]hat the hell is he talking about when it comes to the Twitter history of his fans?” Hookstead asked. “Is he implying that people who cheer for Josh Allen are racist and bigoted? It certainly sounds that way.”
“Imagine if you just picked a random quarterback and declared the team’s fan base racist because they own trucks with the American flag,” he outlined. “You’d be laughed out of every room you stepped into. Yet, Foxworth thinks it’s a legitimate point! I’m not sure how anyone can defend that stance. It’s absolutely absurd.”
LISTEN:
Cancel Dominique Foxworth @espn pic.twitter.com/b8pxTiLYWc
— TheBillsGuys (@TheBillsGuys) December 11, 2020