Ryan Caldwell, the Philadelphia Eagles fan who went viral for cruelly verbally abusing Green Bay Packers fan Ally Keller during Sunday’s Wild Card Round game, has broken his silence on the incident.
Keller attended the game at Lincoln Financial Field with her fiancé, Alexander Basara. The latter shared a viral video of Ryan Caldwell verbally abusing Keller and using derogatory language towards her.
The Eagles have since announced that Caldwell has received a lifetime ban from home games. He was also fired from his job as a project manager at the BCT Partners consulting firm.
Speaking to Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post, Ryan Caldwell expressed remorse for his actions and apologized to Keller. He also claims that the video shared by Basara doesn’t provide the entire “context” of their verbal altercation:
“While attending an NFL game last Sunday to support my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret. What began as banter with two Packers fans sitting near me escalated to 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, family, and friends, my former employer and colleagues, Packer fans, Eagle fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the City of Philadelphia, and all who were offended.
That said, there are two sides to every story. The video clip circulating online does not reflect the full context of what transpired, and my actions were not without provocation. I will live with 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.”
Some fans on social media uncovered one suspicious thing about Basara here. He started up a GoFundMe page before the game, and the final paragraph of his post suggests that he was looking to start some beef with Eagles fans:
Even if Ryan Caldwell is telling the truth about the viral video not showing the entire story, there’s no excuse for the language and threatening tone he used towards Keller. Pure and simple.
He also should have known that he was setting himself up for trouble with Basara filming the incident (with a visible camera). He’s far from the first person to lose a job after going viral for inexcusable behavior, and his refusal to control his temper and actions mean he must deal with the consequences.
Eagles Host The Rams On Sunday
The Eagles will try to reach their second NFC Championship Game in three years when they play host to the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. The victor will face the winner of the Detroit Lions-Washington Commanders game in the NFC Championship.
