A firestorm of controversy is brewing after some fans of the Kansas City Chiefs cheered the injury of their own quarterback after he took a hard hit. INSIDE EDITION looks at the situation that is making headlines across the nation.
Fury as fans erupted in cheers after their own quarterback was knocked unconscious and it's causing a firestorm across America.
The Kansas City Chiefs struggling quarterback Matt Cassel was hit hard during the game against the Baltimore Ravens. Way too many Kansas City fans cheered because it meant he would be leaving the game.
Teammate Eric Winston vented his anger in the locker room.
He said, “I want everybody to know that I think it's sickening and disgusting! We are not gladiators and this is not the Roman coliseum. This is a game! We got 70,000 people cheering that he got knocked out? We got a lot of problems as a society if people think that that's ok.”
Now the controversy is rippling way beyond football.
Advertising guru Donny Deutsch said on the Today show, “From Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey, ‘I’m going to shoot the bitch if I had a gun,’ to Housewives literally snapping each other to Ultimate Fighting we are becoming a thug culture. We have become a thug culture."
Fans who called in on Tuesday to Kansas City’s 610 Sports Radio are bitterly divided. One admitted he was watching at home when Cassel was hurt and was also celebrating.
“I did cheer when Matt Cassel got hurt because there's only one way we're going to get rid of Matt Cassel,” said the fan.
“Anybody cheering for a guy getting hurt or seriously injured - they're crazy,” said another.
Danny Parkins from 610 Sports Radio told INSIDE EDITION, "Concussions are not funny and they should not be cheered or celebrated. Problem with Winston's comments were that he characterized it as 70,000 fans, when in reality, it was probably 7,000 fans."
Fans are down on the quarterback because of a string of poor performances. Some guys actually paid for a plane to fly over the stadium with a banner reading "Bench Cassel."
But KCTV’s Rich Baldinger said the fans are getting a bad rap and criticized Eric Winston’s locker room diatribe.
“Winston owes the Kansas City fans an apology because you can not lump together everyone with a few you know what, jerks, who may have had a few drinks too many in the stands,” said Baldinger.
