(Peter Joneleit / AP Photo)

Patriot Brief

• Bijan Robinson faced backlash for referencing a childhood football game on national television.

• Social media outrage pressured Robinson into issuing a standard, scripted apology.

• Fans largely rejected the controversy as performative and unnecessary.

This entire episode perfectly captures the exhausting cycle of modern outrage culture. Bijan Robinson wasn’t launching a political statement or taking a shot at anyone — he was reliving a childhood football game during a postgame celebration. Anyone acting in good faith knows that. Unfortunately, good faith has been in short supply for years.

The backlash didn’t come from fans in the stadium or viewers at home. It came from the usual online scolds whose job seems to be policing language detached from intent, context, or reality. Robinson’s apology — polished, corporate, and utterly predictable — wasn’t about remorse. It was about survival in a media environment that punishes authenticity and rewards submission.

What makes this worse is the hypocrisy. The same crowd demanding ritual apologies freely uses violent rhetoric against political opponents without consequence. Fans recognized that immediately, which is why the overwhelming response was simple: stop apologizing.

People still value authenticity. They just wish public figures were allowed to keep it.

From Western Journal:

Regular Americans, including football fans, tend to despise hypocrisy and inauthenticity.

Unfortunately, we saw both on display following the Atlanta Falcons’ 29-28 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.

During the post-game show on Amazon Prime, Falcons Pro Bowl running back Bijan Robinson used the phrase “smear the queer” to refer to a common, backyard, keep-away football game played in childhood, which sparked a pro-LGBT backlash that unfortunately prompted Robinson to issue an apology on the social media platform X.

The “slur” occurred during an exchange with Prime analyst and former NFL star Richard Sherman.

In a clip posted to X, Sherman described a play in which Robinson eluded multiple Tampa Bay defenders.

“Oh, this boy grew up in the backyard!” Sherman exclaimed as a way of praising the running back.

“Hey, ‘smear the queer,’” Robinson replied.

Bijan Robinson really just said “smear the queer” on national TV. pic.twitter.com/EucPuXmjKA

— PPRFantasyTips (@PPRFantasyTips) December 12, 2025

“That name is considered an offensive, homophobic slur and is widely condemned,” per Awful Announcing. “While some have tried to claim it was meant to represent someone who is ‘odd’ or ‘different’ instead of an LGBTQ+ individual, the term was often used in a derogatory way at the time as well.”

“He’s young, and he was referencing a childhood memory, but in 2025, ignorance of that particular slur doesn’t really fly,” per Total Apex Sports, adding its two cents to the collective scolding of Robinson.

Unfortunately, Robinson later issued an apology on X.

“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!”

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. 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…

— Bijan Robinson (@Bijan5Robinson) December 12, 2025

Awful Announcing inexplicably called that apology “heartfelt.”

To those of us who have read many such “apologies” over the years, however, it came across as standard, Human Resources-style boilerplate.

Robinson, who leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage, should not have had to apologize.

For one thing, he joined the Prime post-game studio fresh from a thrilling win over a division rival. Down 28-14 in the fourth quarter, the Falcons rallied to win on a last-second field goal. Along the way, Robinson rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown. He also caught eight passes for 82 yards.

In other words, does anyone seriously believe that in that moment the running back intended an anti-gay slur? Or did Sherman’s comment merely call to mind a childhood game that, to Robinson, had nothing to do with LGBT?

Either way, the on-air moment, unlike the subsequent apology, felt authentic. Perhaps that explains why X users almost unanimously concluded that Robinson had nothing for which to apologize.

Hey bro, it’s fine. We all played this game. No one was offended.

— HutchinWhale (@HutchinWhale) December 12, 2025

You don’t owe a single apology man

— Pay Roll Manager Here (@UsingLyft) December 12, 2025

Us normal people literally do not care man

— levi (@SoundYoungMan) December 12, 2025

One X user, however, nailed the sentiment that many conservatives undoubtedly share.

“Don’t apologize to people who never forgive,” the user wrote.

Don’t apologize to people who never forgive

— Captain Ⓐncapistan (@CptAncapistan) December 12, 2025

Indeed, the self-righteousness of those who demand apologies for “slurs” knows no bounds. Nor does their hypocrisy.

After all, those same people have spent nearly a decade slandering their political opponents as “fascists” or “Nazis.” Some of them — the demon-possessed ones — even celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk, while others demand more violence.

In short, as one of those X users noted, “normal people literally do not care” what Robinson said. We overlook carelessness if we sense authenticity. And we abhor apologies issued to satisfy wicked hypocrites.

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