Ravens call Patrick Ricard's racist tweets 'unacceptable'

ByJAMISON HENSLEY
December 9, 2018, 1:06 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Baltimore Ravens called the racist tweets made by fullback/defensive lineman Patrick Ricard six years ago "totally unacceptable."

In 2011 and 2012, Ricard posted at least six tweets that used the N-word. These tweets surfaced on social media on Sunday morning before the Ravens' game against the Chiefs, and Ricard was a healthy scratch for the third time this season.

The Ravens issued this statement: "The tweets are totally unacceptable, and we have addressed the matter with Pat."

After the game, Ricard addressed the issue.

"I want to sincerely apologize for my inappropriate and unacceptable tweets," he said. "I was a 16-year-old kid in high school who clearly made bad choices. Those words do not reflect who I am today."

Ricard said that he hadn't yet spoken to teammates about the situation.

"Today's game day. I just want those guys ... I don't want to distract the team in any way, just have those guys come out here and play," he said. "I'm going to talk to them most likely the next time we're in the building."

Ricard, an undrafted rookie out of Maine in 2017, has played 10 games this season. He has been nicknamed "Project Pat" because he is one of the few players who line up on offense and defense. He has made four tackles this season and has played 90 snaps on offense.

Ricard is active on Twitter and regularly invites teammates to dinner for what he labels "ProjectPatsFoodReview."

He said that he wasn't afraid of the tweets surfacing, earlier.

"I tweet a lot, and I kind of don't remember what I tweeted," he said. "It's still not acceptable. It's still inappropriate. I really am sincerely sorry that I did that."