Darius Slay is walking back some of his concerns about the Eagles opening their season in Brazil.
On an episode of his “Big Play Slay” podcast last week, Slay said he did not want to go to Brazil and questioned why the NFL would put a game in a country with “a crime rate this high.”
But the Eagles cornerback apologized on Tuesday night for the comments.
“I want to apologize to anyone I offended, that wasn’t my intention,” he wrote on social media. “I’m looking forward to playing in your beautiful country and i’ve heard yall are very passionate just like our amazing Eagles fan. Just a few more days, can’t wait!!!!”
Slay’s apology was posted on X, which means it would make it hard for any Brazilians in the country to see it; the social media platform was recently banned in the country.
Friday’s game in Sao Paulo against the Packers will be the first time an NFL game has been played in South America.
Though the NFL seemed excited to expand its global footprint onto the continent, some Eagles players initially didn’t appear gung-ho about the idea of playing the game in Brazil.
During his podcast, Slay said the players had been warned of potential safety issues that could arise in the South American nation.
“I do not want to go to Brazil. You want to know why? I’m going to tell you why,” Slay said. “They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can’t do too much going on, because the crime rate is crazy. I’m like ‘NFL, why would you want to send us somewhere with a crime rate this high?’”
He also added that he had told his family not to attend the game in Brazil since he was “not going to be nowhere to be found.”
Slay was not alone in his initial concern over the location of the game.
Receiver A.J. Brown also said that he would be spending most of the time in the country in his room.
“I’m just trying to go down there and win a football game, and come back home … But after hearing all this stuff, I’m probably going to be in my room,” he said, according to CBS Sports.
Brown was asked at the time what the “don’t do’s” in Brazil were, and he replied, “A lot.”
“Things that we would normally do here, even something as simple as walking down the street with your phone in your hand and stuff like that, which is kind of crazy, so it’s alright,” he explained.
The Eagles and Packers kickoff at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, with the game airing on Peacock.
