Chris Simms apologized for his string of insensitive comments he made after the death of a Dolphins fan who harassed him using the popular Miami-based Twitter account “We Are TuAnon.”
Eric Carmona, creator of the “We Are TuAnon” account, died in a motorcycle crash on June 1 in Murrieta, California, according to the Murietta Police Department. The 30-year-old and former Navy veteran was known for wearing a dolphin mask in his viral videos that commended Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and exposed the negative takes from media pundits and rival fanbases.
In an appearance on the God Bless Football podcast, the NFL analyst said he was “disappointed” for the comments he previously made during a Pro Football Talk live video with Mike Florio.
“I dropped the ball,” Simms said on the podcast. “I was insensitive. I didn’t need to go that route. I let a bigger conversation take ahold of me for a second and it was the wrong time to bring it up. I meant no disrespect to Tua [Tagovailoa] or the Carmona family at all, but that was totally bad timing and insensitive by me. I got no excuse. I’m sorry.”
In addition to Simms’s apology, he donated $1,000 to Carmona’s family while Florio donated $2,500 after the two discussed Tagovailoa’s $10,000 donation to the family. Simms’s previous comments applauded the Dolphins signal caller for donating to Carmona’s family.
However, Simms also previously took an untimely jab at Carmona and discredited the need for funds going to a man who he considered to be “negative” in society.
“It is a nice gesture [Tua’s donation to the Carmona family]. It really is,” Simms said. “It’s a horrible thing, a horrible accident. He obviously is a huge Tua fan. Also a huge guy that trolled me a lot on Twitter.
Yup...hey @CSimmsQB do better. Eric did a lot for the community and the fan base and tua recognized it and helped his family during this tragic time not give him money for being negative. Just cause he called you out on your horrible QB takes doesn't mean you can be horrible https://t.co/E4UAI2EgkQ pic.twitter.com/ScTcVUGmYY
— DouglieDoWrong (@DouglieDoWrong) June 8, 2023
This is a deep subject and I think it’s societal and I won’t go into it because I’m only going to get myself in trouble. We’re also setting an example like, ‘Hey here’s money to a guy who was very negative too.’ That’s all I’m sayin.”
Donations for Carmona have surpassed $110,000, according to the family’s GoFundMe page. Carmona and his wife, Vanessa, shared four children.
