Bijan Robinson is eager to make amends.
After the Falcons’ narrow 29-28 win against the Buccaneers on Thursday, the running back sparked controversy by using a homophobic slur during a postgame interview. He quickly issued an apology on “X” shortly after.
In a lighthearted moment while describing a play reminiscent of backyard football games, Robinson said, “Q—Stains R. this is what it is, fill in the q—r.”
He later tweeted, “I want to apologize for the insensitive comments I made on the air. It was meant to capture a childhood game, but that’s no excuse.” Robinson continued, acknowledging his slip and vowing to improve, stating, “I recognize my mistake and will do better in the future. This does not reflect my beliefs, and I sincerely apologize to those I offended.”
Robinson had an impressive performance that night, accumulating 175 yards and scoring a touchdown, helping the Falcons (5-9) pull off a remarkable comeback from a 28-14 deficit in the fourth quarter.
His standout game landed him a feature on Amazon Prime’s postgame show, where he joined tight end Kyle Pitts, who had a spectacular game with 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Kirk Cousins, who delivered 375 yards and three touchdown passes.
During the show, Richard Sherman asked Robinson about the play he had described, and he referenced how he’d learned the game playing in his backyard before again using the slur. Another panelist quickly noted, “Kill the Courier,” referring to a more widely recognized game.
The Falcons snapped a two-game losing streak with this win, while the Buccaneers (7-7) fell to second place in the NFC South behind the Panthers. At just 23 years old, Robinson has recorded 1,174 rushing yards and 684 receiving yards this season, totaling 1,858 yards, along with six rushing touchdowns and two through-the-air touchdowns.
Atlanta now enjoys a break before facing the Cardinals in Week 15.
