Spring breaker Brady Sluder, whose face went viral last week when he told news cameras “If I get corona, I get corona,” while partying it up in Miami, has apologized for his “insensitive” comments.
“If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I'm not gonna let it stop me from partying”: Spring breakers are still flocking to Miami, despite coronavirus warnings. https://t.co/KoYKI8zNDH pic.twitter.com/rfPfea1LrC
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 18, 2020
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Sluder said he wants to own up for his mistakes.
“I would like to sincerely apologize for the insensitive comment I made in regards to COVID-19 while on spring break,” said Sluder. “Like many others, I have elderly people who I adore more than anything in the world and other family members who are at risk, and I understand how concerning this disease is for us all.”
“Unfortunately, simply apologizing doesn’t justify my behavior,” he added. “I’m simply owning up to my mistakes and taking full responsibility for my actions.”
Sluder went on to say that he “can’t apologize enough” to the people he has offended and wants to use the moment to become a better person.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I’m not proud of. I’ve failed, I’ve let down, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes,” he said in the caption. “I can’t apologize enough to the people I’ve offended and the lives I’ve insulted. I’m not asking for your forgiveness, or pity. I want to use this as motivation to become a better person, a better son, a better friend, and a better citizen.”
Lastly, he advised people to take the public health orders from their government officials seriously and practice social distancing.
“Listen to your communities and do as health officials say,” he concluded. “Life is precious. Don’t be arrogant and think you’re invincible like myself. I’ve learned from these trying times and I’ve felt the repercussions to the fullest. Unfortunately, simply apologizing doesn’t justify my behavior. I’m simply owning up to my mistakes and taking full responsibility for my actions. Thank you for your time, and stay safe everyone.”
Though Sluder’s face probably became synonymous with the defiant spring break crowd, he was not the only one openly flouting the calls to social distance. In fact, the situation in Florida became so untenable that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis pressured municipalities to close beaches and shut spring break down for good.
“The message I think for spring breakers is that the party’s over in Florida, you’re not going to be able to congregate on any beach in the state,” DeSantis told Fox News. “Many of the hot spots that people like to go to, whether it’s Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater Beach, are closed entirely for the time being.”
“The bars are closed so you’re not going to have a place to congregate there, so we would just tell those folks maybe come back next year when things are better, but that is not what we’re looking for here in the state of Florida,” DeSantis added. “Every single beach will have to abide by the CDC guidelines, no more than 10 people, you have to be socially distant, not every beach is going to remain open, but some will.”
Last weekend, as many as five spring breakers returned to college and tested positive for COVID-19.