Green Bay Packers fan Alex Basara has been receiving some heat online following an ugly incident during Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Basara recorded a foul-mouthed Philly fan, who has since been identified as Ryan Caldwell, calling his girlfriend some vile names and then telling him to “shut the f**k up” after he tried defending her.
Caldwell has since been banned from returning to Lincoln Financial Field and fired from his job at a DEI consultancy group.
However, some social media users have spoken in his defense, claiming that he was set up, given that Basara is actually a content creator with around 60,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Some have also pointed out that he made a GoFundMe page asking for donations to help him get to the game, though he claims to live just an hour away from the Eagles home ground.
The Packers supporter is now being accused of setting the whole thing in motion to attract people to his social media pages.
“I originally felt bad for them but it was a setup,” an X user commented.
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“Here is the Packers content creator with his camera before the game. He got exactly what he wanted…Something that went viral. What was he planning on getting with this camera facing the field? Glad the Eagles fan got banned for saying that stuff but this is fishy as hell,” another claimed.
“The guy was getting 1-200 likes before the incident,” they added under their original tweet. “He is getting 1,000x that now dude to the incident. This is exactly what he wanted. I would not be surprised if they were talking s*** and provoked it. Just seems like content creator bull s***. “Content Creator”.”
“The vulgar Eagles fan is clearly a POS, but the Packers fiancé who filmed the incident has a lot going on,” another user wrote. “How much did he instigate this? Look at his attitude going into the Linc. He was wearing a body camera to video stuff for content. He also has multiple GoFundMe’s to pay for his travel to Packers games etc. Need more info, but it feels like we’ve been manipulated by this dude.”
Ryan Caldwell Has Also Implied That He Was Provoked By Alex Basara
Meanwhile, Caldwell has broken his silence since the clip of the incident went viral. The Eagles fan admitted wrongdoing in an apology, having spoken to the New York Post, but he also suggested that the video does not show the full context of what happened.
Caldwell also indicated that while his actions are inexcusable, they were not without provocation, adding that the footage does not accurately represent who he is as a person.
“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.”
Caldwell claims to have accepted the consequences prompted by his ill-advised outburst, noting he will have to live with them.