Former employers of Eagles fans defend DEI-targeted company amid backlash over heinous incident at playoff game

AND Philadelphia Eagles fan’s former employers have spoken out against some of the backlash the company received over the man’s incident with a pair of Green Bay Packers fans over the weekend.

Lawrence Hibbert and Dr. Randal Pinkett, co-founders of New Jersey-based DEI-focused BCT Partners, spoke with TMZ Sports and defended their company against the negative social media posts and reviews that were left online after the incident.

“Some of the posts, some of the comments that have been made about our company are just as disgusting, if not more disgusting than the comments about (Ryan Caldwell). That’s the point, right?” Pinkett said. “That’s the problem with the culture we’ve created that we’re in, that there’s no room for grace. There’s no room, there’s only two extremes, you’re OK or you’re fired.

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“We believe that there is a middle ground that we can recover from mistakes, we can learn and we can grow. We believe that Mr. Caldwell can learn and grow, but we believe that our society can also learn and grow. That we can criticize behaviors, we can condemn behavior without judging the individual .”

Hibbert has been lamenting the past few days, as the company is in the process of celebrating an important milestone.

“This has been a really tough time in the last 24-48 hours,” Hibbert said, adding that the company is celebrating its 25th anniversary. “… And when you get posts on social media and national media questioning your integrity and the way you work, it hurts. But we also believe that we can maintain our results and we wanted to use these opportunities to confirm that even in difficult times we will act based on our value system, doing what we believe is right.”

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The fan was identified as Ryan Caldwell, and the company announced it had parted ways with him on Tuesday. Pinkett said they knew it was Caldwell from the video.

“I can’t say enough how abhorrent the behavior we observed was and how upset I was to see someone who was associated with our company at the time engage in such behavior,” he said.

Caldwell was seen berating the female Packers fan while her fiance was filming the incident. He repeatedly called her a “stupid p—” and a “c—“.

Caldwell published a statement on Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“While I was at an NFL game last Sunday to cheer on my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret,” he said. “What started as banter with two Packers fans sitting near me escalated into something more serious, and I said things that were unacceptable. In the heat of the moment, I chose unforgivable words to address one of the fans,

“Mrs. Ally Keller. I want to sincerely apologize to Ms. Keller for those words, to my wife, family and friends, my former employer and colleagues, the Packer fans, the Eagle fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the city of Philadelphia, and everyone who was offended. It is said that every there are two sides to the story.

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“The video clip circulating online does not reflect the full context of what happened, and my actions were not without provocation. I will live with this experience, and I am certainly paying a personal price. For those who do not know me, this incident does not reflect my values ​​or respect that I have towards others and does not indicate the person I am.”

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