On Wednesday, the Twitter world was in an uproar after linebacker Brandon Spikes posted a homophobic tweet.
Spikes tweet read: “I’m homophobic just like I’m arachnopobic. I have nothing against homosexuals or spiders but I’d still scream if I found one in my bathtub!”
Minutes after seeing the tweet several followers scolded him for his ill-advised attempt at comedy. That led to him attempting to clarify his intent three hours later by tweeting, “PEOPLE!!!! It’s a joke …seriously a JOKE!!! Chill out.”
Spikes, a third-year linebacker out of the University of Florida, was paraphrasing a monologue by British comedian Jack Whitehall. Almost two years ago Whitehall said, “I’m not homophobic. Well, I suppose I’m homophobic in the same sense I’m arachnopobic. I’m not scared of spiders. I’m not scared of gays, but I would scream if I saw one in my bath.”
According to Stacey James, Patriots spokesman, “The team has no comment.”
On Thursday, during the Patriots media availability, Spikes was not available for comment.
Other Patriots refused to comment on the tweet.
“I’m just concentrating on Seattle, so I really don’t have any comment at all about it,” wide receiver Wes Walker said.
Defensive captain Vince Wilfork was asked if he was embarrassed by Spikes’s tweets, he replied, “If it has nothing to do with Seattle, then I don’t even know about it. I watch SpongeBob SquarePants, you can anybody. So I don’t have time to look at everything else being said [on Twitter], because that’s my life at home.”
This is not Spikes first time being involved in ill-advised acts. During his rookie year he was embroiled in controversy for being in a pornographic video that hit the Internet. Later in his rookie season he was suspended for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
He later said in a statement that the substance was a medication that he should have gotten clarification on before using.
Spikes is scheduled to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
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