Geraldo Rivera Hoodie Apology Accepted by Trayvon Martin's Parents
Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera has personally apologized to Trayvon Martin's grieving parents Sunday night during a live taping of his "Geraldo at Large" show.
"What I was trying to do was caution parents allowing kids to wear hoodies or similar clothing in certain circumstances, particularly if they were minority young men could be dangerous," Rivera told the slain teen's father Tracy Martin and mother Sybrina Fulton, who both appeared on his show.
"But I never intended to hurt anyone's feelings and certainly Sybrina and Tracy, I never intended to hurt your feelings. I want to personally convey my deepest apologies to both of you. I am sorry, Tracy, if anything I said added to your misery," he added.
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Rivera sparked public outrage on March 23 after suggesting that Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, who was shot and killed by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, provoked his own death by wearing a hoodie, which ultimately made him look like a suspicious "gangsta wannabe."
"Thank you for the apology. Your apology is accepted," Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin said in response.
"Trayvon had every right to have on his hood. He was protecting himself from the rain. When being suspicious walking in the rain with your hoodie on is a crime, then I guess the world is doing something wrong," Mr. Martin added.
Rivera's position at Fox News was reportedly under threat after making bizarre comments about the slain teen's choice of clothing. "Trayvon's hoodie killed him as surely as George Zimmerman did!" Rivera had previously said on "Fox and Friends" before insisting that young people avoid wearing that particular choice of clothing.
Rivera's comments led to a national outcry with many critics taking to blogs and social networking site Twitter to publicly condemn him.
"sorry @GeraldoRivera, what i gotta stroll around rocking a tux 24 7 so i can put others who are ignorant at ease? what about the OTHER side of that coin?" Renowned DJ Questlove tweeted.
"You can file Geraldo's absurd remarks under the category of "Lazy Pragmatism," which is really just a way to avoid the heavy lift involved in actually thinking about things," Mediaite.com columnist Tommy Christopher wrote.
"My own son just wrote to say he's ashamed of my position re hoodies-still I feel parents must do whatever they can to keep their kids safe," Rivera himself had tweeted prior to his apology to Martin's parents.
