Foul-mouthed fan banned from Eagles home games, fired after viral tirade against woman

A Philadelphia sports fan who went on a misogynistic tirade against a female Green Bay Packers fan in a viral video lost his job and will never be allowed to attend an Eagles home game again, officials said Tuesday.

The ugly scene was captured on cellphone video during the Eagles’ NFC Wild Card Round victory Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly.

“The individual will not be permitted to attend future events at Lincoln Financial Field,” a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The widely shared video showed a man in an Eagles jacket leaning over, putting his hands over his mouth and swearing at the female fan in the row in front of him. This fan didn’t seem to respond to him.

Online sleuths linked the offending fan to a New Jersey management consulting firm, BCT Partners, which denounced its employee’s behavior.

And late Tuesday evening, the company announced that it had parted ways with the employee it identified as Ryan Caldwell, a business analyst specializing in information technology.

“The language was vile, it was disgusting, it was unacceptable and terrible,” Randal Pinkett, founder of BCT Partners, told NBC News on Wednesday.

“It was diametrically opposed to the values ​​we represent at BCT. We are a company founded on inclusion, respect and dignity, and the behavior was completely contrary to everything we stand for in this organization.”

Pinkett, who reality TV fans may remember as the winner of the fourth season of “The Apprentice,” declined to discuss Caldwell’s work performance.

But Pinkett wished his now-former employee well and hopes he can pick up the pieces from Sunday night’s incident.

“Not only have we parted ways with Mr. Caldwell, but we have been very clear in our statement that we have shown him grace and support and that he could do better,” Pinkett said.

“What concerns me is his behavior, but what also concerns me is the cancel culture we live in, which doesn’t give people the grace, that we don’t have the opportunity to be better people and learn from our mistakes. “

In a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, Caldwell apologized for his behavior.

“While attending an NFL game last Sunday to support my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret. “What started as a joke with two Packers fans sitting next to me escalated into something more serious and I said things that were unacceptable,” his statement said.

“In the heat of the moment, I chose unforgiving words to address one of the fans, Ms. Ally Keller. I would like to sincerely apologize to Ms. Keller for these words, as well as to my wife, my family and friends, my former employer and colleagues, Packer fans, Eagle fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the city of Philadelphia and everyone who were offended.”

The Eagles won the game 22-10 and played the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon.

The fan targeted by Caldwell’s rant, Ally Keller, and her fiancé, Alex Basara, told NBC Philadelphia that they initially enjoyed the game and even enjoyed some friendly banter with rival fans.

“He initially started with playful taunts or just saying things to us as we sat down,” Basara told NBC Philadelphia. “I chatted with him a bit. But then he kept saying the same thing over and over again. Continued through the entire game. As the game progressed it got worse and worse. We were surrounded by Eagles fans. We got all the attention.”

The man’s comments got worse as the Eagles’ lead grew, the couple said.

“And then he just said, ‘Actually, you don’t even look good enough to talk to me,'” Keller said. “And then I said, ‘What does that mean?’ And he said, “You know what that means.” And so I said, “Have you looked in the mirror yourself?” And he said, “Yeah, but I’m a man.” I’m allowed to be ugly. You’re a woman.'”

Basara said recording the incident ultimately led to de-escalation.

Keller said she was hesitant to say too much to the home team fan because the atmosphere was hostile.

“If there’s an altercation or something physical, all they see is me messing with an Eagles fan and then I become a target,” she said. “And then what happens to my then fiancé in this scenario? It’s a dangerous situation.”

Philadelphia fans, and Eagles supporters in particular, have long had a bad reputation that they believe is exaggerated.

Sometime in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a arraignment court was set up in the basement of the team’s former home at Veterans Stadium to deal with fans arrested on fall Sundays for drunkenness, brawling and more.