Paul George has apologized for an incredibly thoughtless tweet he sent supporting Ray Rice. His boss, Larry Bird, wasn’t too happy about the tweet in the first place, as one can image.
Overnight, the Indiana Pacers star tweeted a message in support of Rice, the NFL player at the center of controversy, telling him to stay strong. “Keep it 100 lets act on this police violence like we actin on this Ray Rice case! Stay strong homie!” the message reads.
Just moments later, George sent another tweet, apologizing. “Let me apologize to the women and to the VICTIMS of domestic violence people my intent was not to downplay the situation,” he wrote.
George later sent another statement through the Pacers, along with a few words from Bird, the Pacers President of Basketball Operations.
“I want to apologize to all victims of domestic abuse for my insensitive tweets,” George wrote. “They were obviously without proper understanding of the seriousness of the situation and I sincerely regret my poor choice of words.”
Bird added, “Paul George's tweets from earlier were thoughtless and without regard to the subject of domestic violence and its seriousness in society. We have talked to Paul to strongly express our displeasure and made it clear that the NBA and the Pacers' organization will not condone or tolerate remarks of this nature. Paul understands that he was wrong and why his tweets were so inappropriate and is very apologetic.”
George’s tweet telling Rice to “stay strong” is still on his Twitter page, but was really only one in a series of tweets George sent overnight. According to ESPN, George also wrote, “I don't condone hittin women or think it's coo BUT if SHE ain't trippin then I ain't trippin.. Lets keep it movin lol let that man play!”
"I get it tho NFL.. You just don't hit women!” he added in another now-deleted tweet. “If you in a relationship and a woman hit you first and attacking YOU.. Then you obviously ain't beatin HER. Homie made A bad choice! #StayUp.”
Also overnight, the NFL picked former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to lead an independent investigation into the league’s handling of the Rice case. Rice was caught on tape punching his now-wife Janay Rice in February, but the NFL has claimed it did not see the full tape until it was leaked on Monday. However, an Associated Press report suggests that the NFL was sent the tape.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com