Son ashamed by father’s remarks
Geraldo Rivera has apologized for the comments he made regarding Trayvon Martin and his hoodie.
On Fox & Friends last week Geraldo Rivera told co-host Brian Kilmeade “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was… I’ll bet you money, if he didn’t have that hoodie on, that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn’t have responded in that violent and aggressive way… Every time you see someone sticking up a 7-Eleven, the kid’s wearing a hoodie.”
Rivera’s comments were met with criticism, rage and ridicule. “Yes, it was the hoodie’s fault. A hooded sweatshirt can make an innocent teen look like a criminal, just like a suit and glasses can make Geraldo Rivera look like a journalist,” said Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.
It took his family, however, for Geraldo Rivera to admit his mistake. Gabriel Rivera, Geraldo’s oldest son, told his dad that it was the first time he was ashamed by something his dad said. “He had never, ever used language like that,” Geraldo said. “It was like, ‘Whoa, what have I done to make my son say that?’”
“I apologize for the language,” said Geraldo. “I don’t apologize at all for the substance of my advice. I was trying to save lives.” Rivera said he wanted black and Latino parents to realize that the type of clothing their children wear could appear threatening to other people and could put them in potential danger.
In an email to Politico Geraldo Rivera said that “by putting responsibility on what kids wear instead of how people react to them, I have obscured the main point that someone shot and killed an unarmed teenager.”
