Controversial former NFL receiver Antonio Brown used a racial slur to describe Notre Dame junior cornerback Charles Du in a post on X.
“C–k of the Day #CTESPN,” Brown wrote in a quote tweet of an ESPN X post showing Du’s jersey with his name spelled out in Chinese prior to Notre Dame’s 23-10 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
“A Legend… got an NIL deal for this kid. Tag his X for me.”
Du hails from Beijing and attended high school in California before joining Notre Dame as a walk-on.
He has not appeared in a game this season.
Notre Dame’s jerseys do not usually have players’ names on the back, but the Fighting Irish have opted to do so for their two College Football Playoff (CFP) matchups.
Du’s jersey Thursday highlighted his heritage.
Brown, who starred for the Steelers and also played for the Patriots and Buccaneers, has developed a reputation in his post-playing days for making controversial comments on X.
Examples include him going after Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and pop star girlfriend Taylor Swift, taking shots at Fever star Caitlin Clark, ripping Tom Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen and comparing former Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada to Adolf Hitler.
Notre Dame’s win Thursday over second-seeded Georgia secured a spot in the CFP semifinal opposite Penn State, which triumphed over Boise State in its quarterfinal clash.
The Fighting Irish previously defeated Indiana, 27-17, in the first round.
Notre Dame has since opened as a 1.5-point favorite at DraftKings over the Nittany Lions for their Jan. 9 clash in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Ohio State is favored against Texas in the other semifinal clash in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 10.
The national title game is set for Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
