Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson shared a public apology for his use of a homophobic phrase during a postgame interview Thursday night. Robinson, ranked third at his position this season, used a demeaning term in response to a question from Thursday Night Football Nightcap analyst Richard Sherman. “You had a play where they threw it to you, Bijan,” Sherman said about Robinson’s performance in Atlanta’s 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “They threw it to you in the backfield, you made the first one miss, then legged three people. And I said, ‘This boy grew up in the backyard.’” Robinson, referring to the informal name of a “keep-away” game, responded, “Smear the queer, that’s what we do.” The player addressed his use of the insensitive phrase in a post to X early Friday morning. “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,“ Robinson wrote. ”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!”
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