2016By Ken Fang on

On Sunday, Robert Klemko was in Western New York to cover the San Francisco 49ers-Buffalo Bills game. And he posted a tweet that immediately became the Twitter outrage of the day.

https://twitter.com/RobertKlemko/status/787697859739148288

Yes, a woman tackled a dummy with an afro and a number 7 jersey that apparently depicted 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick. That video garnered plenty of reaction and if you notice it received almost 1,800 retweets and over 1,200 likes. However, if you notice, there were no yells of “tackle the Muslim,” Klemko says the video was taken after the chants were made:

The latest

The person in the video has come forward to counter Klemko’s claims that she tackled the dummy as a result of the yelling. Alexis Dent has written an article in Medium identifying herself as the “young lady” who did the tackling and she said no one had said anything close to “tackle the Muslim” and requested a retraction. However, Klemko has refused and it has led to a “he said/she said” situation.

Dent writes that Snapchat videos “from the minutes and moments leading up to my tackle, and not once does someone yell anything of that nature. I offered to show you them, but you didn’t respond. Guess it’s not fun being called out, eh?”

Dent said she challenged Klemko about who yelled “tackle the Muslim” and he responded “a random guy in a blue hat. Very generic and convenient, considering our colors are blue and red,” while not claiming that she or any of her friends did.

Yes, I get it. You admitted that I wasn’t associated with the comments, but by leaving the tweets up and continuing to defame my character, you implied that I was, in fact, associated. Because of you saying I tackled the dummy in response to a racist statement, I was called racial slurs myself. People accused me of listening to my “master” and “siding with white men who hate me.” But that didn’t bother me, because the overwhelming majority of responses to the video were in support of me and the fact that there is no such record of anyone making that statement.

Here are a couple of points Dent makes in countering Klemko:

  1. She did not know the dummy was supposed to be Kaepernick. “When we walked by the tailgate, I recognized the group of guys who always dress up a dummy at the tailgate to be the opposing team’s quarterback. Since it was a lovely day and I was in no rush to get into the stadium, I decided to give it a shot myself. I had no idea that it was supposed to be Kaepernick.”
  2. She claims Klemko had an agenda in making the video go viral.

Dent in closing even throws a shot at Klemko for getting into a fight with a cab driver in Ferguson, MO two years ago:

So in conclusion:
Robert, you are a jerk, a scumbag, and a lousy charlatan of a “journalist.” You won’t fully retract your statements? Fine. But don’t come to a Bills tailgate again, or a football dummy won’t be the only thing getting tackled.

Oh wait, I don’t commit assault. Guess that makes one of us.

Well, that was a burn.

For his part, MMQB editor Peter King says he stands by Klemko’s account of the incident:

So Klemko and MMQB are standing by the account and video. Dent and other Buffalo fans say otherwise. Without the actual video showing someone yelling “tackle the Muslim,” the gray area will still remain.

[Medium]

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

View all posts by Ken Fang

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