The Eagles fan who shouted sexist insults at a Green Bay Packers fan during Sunday's playoff game apologized for his actions Thursday, sharing a statement that also alluded to back-and-forth instigations with the Packers fan and her fiancé.
Ryan Caldwell was banned from Lincoln Financial Field and later fired from his job at a management consulting firm after video of the incident in the stands went viral.
MORE: Steven Spielberg film shoot needs extras for scenes in Cape May County
"While attending an NFL game last Sunday to support my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret," Caldwell said in remarks shared with multiple media outlets. "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 video, Caldwell repeatedly refers to Packers fan Ally Keller as an "ugly dumb c***" while she cheers on a big play in the fourth quarter. The video was taken by Keller's fiancé, Alexander Basara, who describes himself as a "daily Packers content creator" in his bio on X, formerly Twitter.
When posting the video, Basara said the encounter was "unprovoked" and called on Packers fans to help identify Caldwell. The video had been viewed more than 31 million times by Thursday afternoon.
"I hate that my fiancé had this happen simply cheering for her team," Basara wrote in his post.
Caldwell said he lashed out at Keller "in the heat of the moment," but said there was more to what happened.
"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," Caldwell said. "The video clip circulating online does not reflect the full context of what transpired, and my actions were not without provocation."
Caldwell did not elaborate on his claim that the Packers fans provoked him.
Basara runs a YouTube channel with nearly 60,000 subscribers and mostly posts videos reacting to Packers games and news related to the team. In the days before the game, Basara created a GoFundMe campaign asking Packers fans for support to help him attend. On the crowdfunding page, Basara said he was "born and raised in PA" and lives about an hour from Lincoln Financial Field. The GoFundMe raised $586.
"Send me into the belly of the beast," Basara wrote. "I've done it multiple times repping the Packers proud, and I am fully ready to do it again. I've been cursed at, stuff thrown at me, and even my first ever cheesehead ripped off my head and thrown into a fire bin while supporting my team in Philly. But I'm sure as hell not scared to do it again."
In an interview Wednesday with NBC10, Basara and Keller talked about what happened during the game.
"(Caldwell) started out with playful jabs at first or kind of just saying things to us right when we sat down," Basara said. "I chatted with him for a bit. But then he just kept saying some of the same things. Continued through the entire game. It got worse and worse as the game went on. We were surrounded by Eagles fans. We were getting all the attention."
At one point, Keller said Caldwell told her that she and Basara had "bad attitudes."
"He went on to say that when he was in third grade, his teacher taught him to have a great attitude. And he was just going on and on and on," Keller told NBC10. "He wanted something out of us. So, I turned around, because I kind of had enough of it at this point, and I said, 'Well, maybe you should go back to third grade then because it seems like you're the one with the bad attitude.'"
Keller said the bickering continued and escalated when Caldwell began commenting on her appearance. The viral video Basara posted started a short time later, the fans said.
Caldwell's former employer, BCT Partners, condemned his behavior Monday night in a statement on X. The New Brunswick, New Jersey firm specializes in advising clients on matters related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The company first said it was investigating the matter, and then followed up Tuesday with another statement confirming Caldwell had been fired.
"This individual's conduct and language were vile, disgusting, unacceptable, and horrific and have no place in our workplace and society. Such conduct is not who we are and not what we stand for," the company said. "At the same time, again to be true to our values, we can condemn the actions without condemning the individual. None of us deserve to be remembered for actions taken on our worst day."
Caldwell ended his statement by reflecting on the whirlwind fallout of attending an Eagles game only to make choices that turned his world upside down.
"I will live with this experience, and I am certainly paying a personal price," he said. "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.”