The Jaguars hosted the Steelers on Sunday afternoon, which meant that a lot of Steelers fans brought their Terrible Towels with them to EverBank Field.
Jaguars mascot Jaxson DeVille responded by making a sign informing those in attendance that “towels carry Ebola.” The joke equating the towels with the spread of a disease that has claimed thousands of lives was unsurprisingly met with a negative reaction that prompted Jaguars president Mark Lamping to issue an apology on Monday morning.
“Improvisation and humor have both been key elements to the character of Jaxson DeVille, especially when he performs at home games,” Lamping said. “On Sunday, the person who has played Jaxson DeVille over the past 20 seasons made an extremely poor decision in that regard. The team was unaware of this inappropriate sign, which was hand-made by Jaxson during the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game, until after it had been displayed. We are handling the matter internally and taking it very seriously. We extend our sincerest apologies to anyone who was offended.”
It’s the second time in a matter of days that a joke about Ebola has found its way into these pages. Neither was particularly funny — or particularly offensive, for that matter — so it’s probably best to keep humor to non-disease related topics for the near future.