It seems that Darius Slay has changed his tune about playing in Brazil. After initially saying he didn't want to play in South America in Week 1, the Eagles star backtracked on those comments Tuesday. Slay has now apologized for his words while also adding that he's looking forward to playing in Sao Paulo.
The six-time Pro Bowler sent out his apology via social media.
"I want to apologize to anyone I offended, that wasn't my intention," Slay wrote. "I'm looking forward to playing in your beautiful country and I've heard y'all are very passionate just like our amazing Eagles fan. Just a few more days, can't wait!"
The Eagles, who will be heading to Brazil on Wednesday morning, will be making history this week when they face the Green Bay Packers in what will be the the NFL's first game ever in South America. The game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday.
Slay found himself in hot water earlier this week after he had said he would prefer NOT to go to Sao Paulo for the game during an episode of his podcast, "Big Play Slay." The cornerback pointed to the crime rate as one reason why he didn't want to play in Sao Paulo.
"I do not want to go to Brazil. You want to know why? I'm going to tell you why," Slay said, via PHL Eagles Nation. "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?'"
Slay had said that he was so uncomfortable with the situation that he asked his family not to attend the game.
"I told my family do not come down there because I'm not going to be nowhere to be found," Slay said.
Slay isn't the only one catching heat, either. Because of how similar their names are, Darius Slayton, a wide receiver for the Giants, has also been hearing from the people of Brazil regarding those comments.
Dear people of Brazil my name is Darius SlayTON I play WR for the Giants i am innocent 😭
— Darius Slayton (@Young_Slay2) September 4, 2024
Slay said he plans to spend the entire trip in his hotel, which echoed the sentiment of teammate A.J. Brown. During an interview on Aug. 29, the Eagles receiver said he would likely also be spending a good chunk of the trip in his hotel room.
"We had a meeting [on Aug. 28], and there were a whole bunch of 'Don't Do's,'" Brown said. "So 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."
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has heard the comments from his players, but he doesn't view the situation the same way.
"We're going there to play and win a football game. That's our goal. That's our only goal as we go down there," Sirianni said on Sunday. "And so, it's just getting everybody in the right mindset of what you need to be when you go down there. You can control the things that you can control. Like, we're going to Brazil to play. That's what it is. We're excited about that."
The complaints about the location of the game date back to June, when Packers running back Josh Jacobs expressed some concern about what player safety will be like in Brazil, although he did later apologize.
As for the Eagles players, if they are worried, the good news for them is that they won't be spending very much time in Brazil. The Eagles flight is schedule to land in Sao Paulo around 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday. The Eagles will then fly home immediately after the game, which means the team will be in Brazil for just over 48 hours.
