WATCH: Pitt player catching heavy criticism for very controversial celebration
A week ago today, 11 people were tragically murdered at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh — the latest mass shooting in the U.S.
On Friday night, a Pitt player — DB Damarri Mathis — celebrated a play by miming shooting a machine gun, drawing heavy criticism.
You can see the celebration, which immediately drew a flag from officials, in the video below:
@Deadspin Pitt player celebrating by miming a machine gun. Pretty astonishing. pic.twitter.com/zOVp7QccTV
— Erik Andersen (@erikandersen_) November 3, 2018
Fans were naturally outraged, and took to Twitter to call out the player for his incredibly tone-deaf celebration:
Pitt player making a gesture of a machine gun. Cool move, dude
— Brandon Lloyd (@blloyd8298) November 3, 2018
That game went about as poorly as imaginable for UVA, Pitt had a guy do a machine gun celebration not a week after what that city went through. Sometimes sports are real bad
— Jordan Shank (@ShankJordan) November 3, 2018
Pretty sure I just saw @Pitt_FB DB #16 Damarri Mathis mimic shooting a machine gun at the @UVAFootball team at the end of the game just now. Can a person be more clueless, thoughtless, and tone deaf, given the current climate in our country? #PITTvsUVA pic.twitter.com/RbsFzf6pU1
— Scott Pharr (@spharr_ATL) November 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/sdiener86/status/1058550937512525824
That guy for Pitt did not just celebrate by pretending to shoot a machine gun did he? Good lord almighty man, how insensitive can you be? Such poor taste
— Kevin Martin (@kmart796) November 3, 2018
Pitt player making apparent machine gun gesture after great play may be the most tasteless decision ever after what the City of #Pittsburgh has dealt with this week
— Steve Chenevey FOX5 (@stevechenevey) November 3, 2018
There’s really never an appropriate time for a machine gun celebration, but especially considering the recent tragedy in Pittsburgh, Mathis’s actions are especially egregious.
