Inside The Huskies

McGary Tweets Apology After Protest Comment Draws Backlash

The former University of Washington football player now with the Atlanta Falcons backtracks on social media after his opinions are panned by fans.
Dan Raley|
McGary Tweets Apology After Protest Comment Draws Backlash
McGary Tweets Apology After Protest Comment Draws Backlash

Kaleb McGary drew such a negative backlash for his Twitter post about protests involving the African American man who died during a police stop in Minneapolis he since has apologized for the comment and deleted it.

The former University of Washington football player is a member of the Atlanta Falcons, living and working in a city that exhibited some of the strongest reaction to the recent death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minnesota.

Protests erupted in several places nationwide after video showed Floyd restrained by a white police officer who held a knee to the man's neck. Floyd's pleas that he couldn't breathe were ignored and he died at the scene. The officer subsequently was arrested and charged with third-degree murder.

On Thursday night, a Minneapolis police station and businesses were set on fire and destroyed by unknown people. A day later, Atlanta watched its peaceful protest evolve into several shops and restaurants going up in flames, as well as the looting of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Watching all of this unfold, McGary tweeted the following: "So, in response to a sad and senseless death. People burn down the police stations, and businesses of innocent people...those involved have made themselves no better than the cops they claim to hate."

Almost immediately McGary received negative reaction from countless fans and others who took exception that he was equating property destruction with the loss of life.

Recognizing the fierce blowback, the offensive tackle originally from Fife, Washington, responded with another tweet apologizing for being insensitive. 

McGary has lived in the Atlanta area for nearly a year now after being drafted in the first round by the Falcons and becoming a starter for the NFL team. 

Elsewhere, coaches and athletes across the country issued statements about George Floyd's death. 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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