Former NFL kicker Jay Feely is facing criticism for a photo he posted to social media of himself, his daughter and her prom date, specifically because the photo shows Feely holding his firearm. Feely has since said the photo was “obviously intended to be a joke.”
Wishing my beautiful daughter and her date a great time at prom #BadBoys pic.twitter.com/T5JRZQYq9e
— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) April 22, 2018
Feely wrote in the caption: “Wishing my beautiful daughter and her date a great time at prom.”
He added the hashtag “Bad Boys,” referring to a scene in “Bad Boys II” where Will Smith pulls out his gun to send a message to Martin Lawrence’s on-screen daughter’s date.
Feely is being criticized for showing his firearm. He said the prom date photo was “intended to be a joke.”
Ex-NFL kicker @jayfeely says prom date photo with gun ‘intended to be a joke’ https://t.co/M5aAigwlX5
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 23, 2018
It was evident that Feely posted the message as a joke but the fact that a gun was in the photo irritated some people, who called Feely irresponsible, especially in lieu of the current gun debate controversy.
Feely, who spent 14 years in the NFL playing for the New York Giants and Jets, has since apologized for posting the picture.
On Sunday, Feely tweeted: ‘The prom picture I posted was obviously intended to be a joke. My Daughter has dated her boyfriend for over a year and they knew I was joking. I take gun safety seriously (the gun was not loaded and had no clip in) and I did not intend to be insensitive to that important issue.”
The prom picture I posted was obviously intended to be a joke. My Daughter has dated her boyfriend for over a year and they knew I was joking.
I take gun safety seriously (the gun was not loaded and had no clip in) and I did not intend to be insensitive to that important issue— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) April 22, 2018
