Dec 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton (86) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline
New York Giants' wide receiver Darius Slayton took to X/Twitter Wednesday evening to issue a direct message to NFL fans in Brazil — he's not to be confused with Eagles cornerback Darius Slay:
Dear people of Brazil my name is Darius SlayTON I play WR for the Giants i am innocent 😭
— Darius Slayton (@Young_Slay2) September 4, 2024
Last week, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay was pretty clear in his disappointment that the team would open the 2024 campaign in Brazil.
“Man, I do not want to go to Brazil,” Slay said. “They already told us not to leave the hotel... NFL, why do y’all want to send us somewhere where the crime rate is this high?”
Eagles assistant general manager Jon Ferrari told Jeff Neiburg of The Philadelphia Inquirer that Eagles players "have not been told they can't leave the hotel room."
Slay later apologized for his comments in a tweet:
I want to apologize to anyone I offended, that wasn’t my intention. I’m
Looking forward to playing in your beautiful country and i’ve heard yall are very passionate just like our amazing Eagles fan. Just a few more days, can’t wait!!!! #FlyEaglesFly
Perhaps the most ironic part about this all is that neither Slay or Slayton's tweets can be seen by anyone in Brazil who may have otherwise been offended. The app was recently banned in Brazil. That doesn't mean Slay or Slayton didn't receive criticism from anyone in Brazil or of Brazilian background in some other way, but taking to Twitter/X to try to do damage control is kind of pointless.
Maybe when the Eagles travel to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants in Week 7, Slay and Slayton can have a good laugh about being confused for each other by angry commenters.
