Athletes' Empty Apologies

It seems like at least every other week, a professional athlete says something stupid on Twitter. It happens all the time. Athletes tweet things about other athletes faking injuries, or about celebrities, or in the most recent case, the disaster in Japan.

Now I don't have a problem with athletes tweeting stupid things. That's bound to happen. We all say stupid things at times. And many athlete's use Twitter like Kleenex to dispose of whatever random crap is filling their head so the odds are a lot higher.

What I have a problem with is their apologies. Their fake, empty and completely ridiculous apologies that are supposed to somehow distance themselves from any bad intentions and paint the whole thing as a big misunderstanding.

What really irks me? One line found in every single one of those empty apologies: "I didn't realize anyone would take offense."

Case in point: As reported by ESPN, WNBA player Cappie Pondexter unloads the following tweets in the days after last week's earthquake and tsunami in Japan:

"What if God was tired of the way they treated their own people in there own country! Idk guys he makes no mistakes."

"U just never knw! They did pearl harbor so u can't expect anything less."

Ok, fine. You're entitled to tweet whatever the heck you want. It's obviously ridiculous and offensive. But it's your opinion and no one can stop you from voicing it.

But here's the problem. After posting these messages and drawing an incredible amount of backlash, Pondexter tweeted an apology which included the following sentence:

"I didn't realize that my words could be interpreted in the manner which they were."

Ok, no. Nope. No way.

Explain this to me -- what part of "they did pearl harbor so us can't expect anything less" did you not realize could be interpreted as offensive? After a natural disaster ravaged Japan and killed thousands of innocent citizens?!

But it's supposed to be ok because you "didn't realize" they could be interpreted in that manner?? Give me one other way in which those words could be interpreted!

I don't mean to sound like I'm on a high horse. I'm not. We all say stupid things sometimes. I say or write stupid things all the time without really thinking and sometimes it offends people. But I'm not going to apologize by saying, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you could take offense from the incredibly offensive thing I just said." I would say, "I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking and I was wrong to make such an offensive remark. I see how it offended you and I won't do it again."

When you say "I didn't realize they would take offense" you're putting the blame on them. You're saying, "the only reason this is a problem is because you're taking offense to something that I had no idea you'd take offense to." It's your fault for taking offense.

Athletes are going to say stupid things. And Twitter's quick-fire system just makes it easier than ever. But when athletes do say stupid things, they need to stop using that one line to shirk responsibility.