Marlon Humphrey, the Baltimore Ravens star, is standing by his controversial comments about American gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, following their display of sportsmanship toward Brazilian gold medalist Rebeca Andrade at the Paris Olympics. After photos went viral of Biles and Chiles bowing to Andrade, Humphrey took to Twitter, calling the gesture “literally disgusting,” a remark that quickly ignited backlash and even caught the attention of Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Eric DeCosta.
Despite the uproar, Humphrey remains firm in his stance, explaining his thought process in the latest episode of his Punch Line podcast. “Dude, let me tell you my perspective. I get on Twitter, and I was like, what the frick? Why are we bowing to anybody? This is freaking America. Why are we bowing to another country?” he explained. Humphrey admitted he didn’t even know which country Andrade represented at the time. “I just saw two people bowing, and I thought, ‘This is crazy,’ just from a human perspective. Ethically, I don’t believe anyone should bow to another person—only to God. So, I said, ‘Golly, this is wild.’”
Humphrey quickly realized that his criticism had targeted none other than Simone Biles, one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. “I tweeted that and then thought, ‘Dang, that is Simone Biles. I might get cooked by the Biles army,’” Humphrey joked, admitting that he wasn’t well-versed in the gymnastics world. “Clearly, I’m not a gymnast guy. I didn’t even know she had an army.”
Initially unaware of the backlash his tweet had sparked, Humphrey recounted how he only realized the magnitude of the situation after being asked about it during practice and seeing a flood of comments on his social media, many of which included Brazilian flags. His follower count also saw a significant spike following the controversy. Humphrey’s sister even contacted him after practice to let him know that people were outraged by his remark, but he remained unfazed. “I believe there’s no such thing as bad media,” he said confidently.
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Humphrey also touched on the broader reactions to the bowing incident, including comments from former First Lady Michelle Obama, who had praised the gesture as an act of respect and sportsmanship. “It was like three days later, she was like, ‘I think this is such a good thing,’” Humphrey began, before his podcast cohost, Jack Settleman, jumped in to suggest that Obama’s remarks might have been a response to Humphrey’s tweet. “It was, it was,” Humphrey joked. “I was like, ‘Michelle Obama knows me?’ It’s kinda fire.”
Humphrey then reminisced about a past encounter with the Obamas, suggesting in jest that Michelle Obama might have remembered him from a visit to the White House during his college years. “I was at the White House, was by [Barack] Obama, so she might have had googly eyes for me way back when, back in college. I’m just saying, she did invite me to her crib.”
While his comments were made with humor and lightheartedness, the core of Humphrey’s stance remains the same: he believes the act of bowing is inappropriate in any context other than a religious one.
Though the backlash from his tweet has been widespread, Humphrey has shown little regret, continuing to defend his perspective while injecting humor into the situation.
The NFL star, known for his strong opinions and playful personality, is clearly unbothered by the controversy and ready to move forward, albeit with a few more Brazilian fans in his social media following.
