Mason Foster Blames Cousin for Controversial Instagram Rant

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Mason Foster came under fire after a message posted under his Instagram account between he and fan was revealed. In it, a seemingly frustrated Foster messaged “F— this team and this fan base” referring to the Washington Redskins and its fans. 

Fans were outraged by that comment and what appeared to be a series of inappropriate responses to those fans bashing Foster for his play and the Redskins recent losses. 

When asked if, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said Foster would not be punished for the messages while defending the defensive captain. Now it appears, that Foster may not have been behind the messages after all. The Redskins inside linebacker blamed his cousin, who he allowed to handle his social media account in wake of the “My Cleats, My Cause” campaign in Week 13, in a statement through a team spokesman.

“I want to clear up some issues that have recently come to light in regards to comments that were made on my Instagram page to my fans and followers,” Foster stated per Scott Allen of the Washington Post. “Following the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, I gave my cousin permission to run my Instagram account to drive awareness for the My Cleats My Cause game the following week. It was brought to my attention this week that he was engaging fans on the platform in a negative light and was responding to messages directed at me with inappropriate language and derogatory remarks. Once I was made aware of this the account was immediately deactivated.”

Foster added that his cousin’s messages in no way reflect how he feels about the team or its fans. 

“These remarks in no way reflect my ideals and values as a teammate and a man,” Foster said. “I want to sincerely apologize to my teammates, coaches, the entire Redskins organization and most importantly the fans for the negativity that these messages created.”

Someone who identified as Foster’s cousin who was responsible for the messages said via Twitter that he was upset and tired of the fans bashing the Redskins linebacker.

“I just be upset by all the disrespect he receives and I lashed out via DM not thinking it would be sent out to the public eye!” the cousin tweeted.

Nonetheless, this is not a good look for Foster. And it remains to be seen if his explanation will be enough to sway perception of angered fans.