CONNECTICUT, USA — The New England Patriots fan who went viral on social media for calmly dealing with the harassment of a Raiders fan last Sunday finally got a chance to tell his story.
Jerry Edmond, a Milford native and a CCSU alum, has been a lifelong Patriots fan ever since he started watching football. He said he fell in love with Tom Brady, as most Patriots fans did.
Edmond took his Patriots fandom to Las Vegas where they faced the Raiders in Allegiant Stadium. He said that from the beginning of the game, the woman seen in the video started to get on him for supporting his team.
"The lady first came over to tell me it's disrespectful to cheer for the Patriots in the Raiders stadium," he said. "I got kind of confused, I didn't really understand what she meant by that."
Edmond said that he tried to be respectful but still engaged in friendly trash-talk.
"If there was a bad pass or anything like that I'd yell out 'That's the Derek Carr (Raiders quarterback) I know'," said Edmond.
Those comments didn't sit well with the woman and then the game presented its own fireworks as on the final drive, Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers lateralled the ball backward to quarterback Mac Jones on the last play of the game with the game tied 24-24 and Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones intercepted the throw and took the ball back to the end zone to secure the Las Vegas win.
So when that explosive final play happened, Edmond said the woman lost control.
"Watching that last play, that's when she kinda went berzerk and then screaming in my face," said Edmond.
He said at that point he was focused on staying collected and as a Black man, he didn't want to do anything that could be misconstrued.
"I didn't wanna get arrested, I didn't wanna ruin my trip," said Edmond.
After calmly dealing with the incident, the video showing the woman screaming in his face went viral on social media garnering massive attention, so much so that the Patriots owner Robert Kraft reached out.
"The Patriots called me up and offered me club seats to tomorrow's game against the Bengals. They're giving me field passes and a custom jersey, " said Edmond. "Honestly I have no idea how my emotions are gonna go. I just know I'm gonna be very excited."
The Raiders also reached out to Edmond, and are planning to fly him out to Las Vegas again for an all-expenses paid trip, and tickets to an event of his choosing at Allegiant Stadium, including the 2023 Pro Bowl, another Raiders game, a concert, or something else.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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