Ryan Caldwell, the disgraced Philadelphia Eagles fan who was filmed hurling vile insults at a Packers women's game, has spoken out.
The Philadelphia fan could be heard calling Ally Keller, the woman in question, “an ugly, dumb moron” in a shocking video with more than 30 million views on X during the Eagles' wild-card playoff game against Green Bay the weekend. .
After his shocking midgame tirade, the 45-year-old lost his job at a New Jersey-based DEI-focused company and was banned from all future events at Lincoln Financial Field by the Eagles.
However, Caldwell has now claimed that the viral video did not capture the incident in its full context.
Despite apologizing to Ms. Keller for her “relentless words,” Caldwell maintained that she did not say them without provocation.
“While attending an NFL game last Sunday to support my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret,” Caldwell told the New York Post.
Disgraced Philadelphia Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell has broken his silence on the viral incident.
The 45-year-old was filmed hurling shocking insults at Packers fan Ally Keller (right).
“What started as a joke with two Packers fans sitting near me turned into something more serious and I said things that were unacceptable. In the heat of the moment, I chose unforgiving words to address one of the fans, Ms. Ally Keller.
“I want to sincerely apologize to Ms. Keller for those words, and to my wife, my family and friends, my former employer and my colleagues, Packer fans, Eagles fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the city of Philadelphia and all those who were offended.
'That being said, there are two sides to every story. The video clip circulating online does not reflect the full context of what occurred, and my actions were not without provocation. I will live this experience and I am certainly paying a personal price. For those who don't know me, this incident does not reflect my values or the respect I have for others and is not indicative of the person I am.'
Footage of Caldwell's foul-mouthed rant was shared online as the Eagles cruised to a 22-10 victory over the Packers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
Packers fan Alexander Basara had shared the nasty exchange between his fiancee and Caldwell with X, and Internet sleuths quickly tracked down Caldwell.
In the clip, Caldwell is seen yelling at Keller, who is wearing a Packers hat, from his seat in the back row.
Caldwell turned directly to Basara and said, 'Are you going to do something?' he asks the man as he tries to intervene. “Then shut the hell up.”
Caldwell is seen yelling at the woman, who is wearing a Packers hat, from her seat in the back row.
Caldwell was seen in a viral video referring to the Packers fan as an 'ugly, dumb whore.'
Caldwell's foul-mouthed rant took place as the Eagles cruised to a 22-10 victory over the Packers.
After officials check a construction site, he is heard mocking the couple. “It's not a touchdown, so don't jerk your c*** in the air.”
Basara responded, “Okay, don't call her an idiot,” prompting an angry response from Caldwell.
He snaps back: 'She's an ugly, dumb bitch.' Are you going to do something?', while Basara's fiancée pretended to cry and mocked him by adding: 'I'm ugly, I'm very hurt.'
Caldwell worked for BCT Partners based in East Brunswick, New Jersey. The company boasts on their site that they “harness the power of diversity, insights and innovation to transform lives.”
The company reported the behavior caught on camera when an investigation was launched, before concluding that “they decided to part ways with the employee.”
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the company condemned Caldwell's actions “without condemning the individual.”
BCT Partners said: 'This individual's conduct and language was vile, disgusting, unacceptable and horrific and has no place in our workplace or society. “That behavior is not who we are or what we represent.”
However, some Internet sleuths appeared to defend Caldwell earlier this week, claiming that not everything is as it seems in the clip.
Caldwell has since been fired from his job as a business analyst amid the outrage.
After the incident, the Eagles banned Caldwell from entering Lincoln Financial Field.
They believe he may be the victim of a scam after discovering shocking details about the Green Bay couple involved in the video.
Fans have discovered that Basara is actually a content creator with close to 60,000 subscribers on YouTube.
And to add to the suspicion, Basara and his other half only attended Sunday's game after he created a GoFundMe page asking for donations to help him get there, despite claiming to live an hour from Lincoln Financial Field.
Several X users are now accusing Basara of instigating the viral altercation with Caldwell to generate views on his social media channels.
One of them commented next to a photo of the couple before heading to the stadium on Sunday: “Here's the Packers content creator with his camera before the game. He got exactly what he wanted… Something that went viral. What was he planning to accomplish with this field facing camera? I'm glad they banned the Eagles fan for saying those things, but this is very suspicious.
“The guy was getting between 1 and 200 likes before the incident,” they added. 'He's getting 1,000 times that amount now, mate, for the incident. This is exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if they were talking shit and provoked him. It seems like nonsense from the content creator. “Content creator”'.
“At first I felt bad for them, but it was a trap,” said another.
“The vulgar Eagles fan is clearly a POS, but the Packers fiancé who filmed the incident has a lot going on,” a third claimed. 'How much did he instigate this? Look at his attitude upon entering the Linc. He was wearing a body camera to record videos and content. He also has several GoFundMes to pay for his trip to Packers games, etc. “I need more information, but it seems like this guy has manipulated us.”
A fourth sentence: 'The Packers fan who filmed the movie was there via GoFundMe to “irritate rival fans in the belly of the beast.” True story. This whole thing was a scam.'