Atlanta Falcon catching heat after anti-gay tweets

ATLANTA — An Atlanta Falcon player is taking heat after making anti-gay comments on Twitter.

The comment came Thursday after a fan asked Falcons wide receiver Roddy White: "You would rather lead the league in stats than win a Super Bowl?"

White then responded by saying: "Would u rather be gay or straight come on u know that answer?"

He quickly defended himself saying, "Freedom of speech. I don't care how much money I make. I should be held to my own standards and not the standards of other opinion. #period"

White then went on to say, "Every time somebody says the word gay u want to get your panties in a bunch relax #whyusoemotional."

The comments quickly went viral, being picked up by websites such as The Huffington Post.

Early Thursday evening, White sent out an apology tweet saying, "OK people I apologize for saying the word gay I know it's a sensitive subject and a athlete of my stature should not use it."

Channel 2 Action News reached out to the Falcons for a comment, but they said they wouldn't make any statement and would stand by White's apology.

WSBTV