Metro Weekly

Seahawks player is “angry” and “disgusted” at homophobic fans

Jon Ryan takes a stance in response to hateful comment

Jon Ryan - Photo: Seahawks
Jon Ryan – Photo: Seahawks

“I think my only regret is that I didn’t respond more harshly. I don’t want bigots to be fans of this team.”

— Seattle Seahawks’ punter Jon Ryan to the The Seattle Times. Ryan, hailed as having the best Twitter account of all Seahawks players, deleted his social media accounts after a heated exchange he had on Instagram.

On Sunday, Ryan posted a rainbow picture with “more love #orlando” written across it. “Where in the bible does it say it’s ok to be homo sexual? (sic),” a follower commented. “Please unfollow me,” Ryan responded. “You’re a terrible human being … please stop cheering for the Seahawks. We don’t want piece of (expletive) fans like you. Thanks.” He deleted his account shortly thereafter.

“The thing that saddened me even more is…that was very angry and people came to his defense, which disgusted me even more,” Ryan told the Times. “I was just angry. I just didn’t want to be a part of that anymore. I felt like if my page was helping breed hate among people, I didn’t want to be a part of that. And it was one of those things, make a bit of a stance,” he said. “I think we are in a position (as athletes) where we can kind of have our voices heard. And sometimes saying nothing is saying the most.”

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