Two Green Bay Packers fans from Pennsylvania are speaking out after a viral video of them being harassed by a foul-mouthed Eagles fan during Sunday’s wild card game sparked outrage across the country.
Alex Basara and his fiancée Ally Keller, both of Chester County, told NBC10 they attended the Eagles-Packers game at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. The couple said they first met up with a few friends who are Eagles fans before the game and engaged in fun banter.
“Ninety-nine percent of Eagles fans were playful banter,” Basara said. “The normal. I’ve been to 20 plus stadiums and it’s normally like that. Eagles is a little bit more harsh sometimes but it’s all in playful fun. They’ll say things to you but then they’ll shake your hand. They’ll say, ‘Hey, have a good time in the stadium.’”
Basara and Keller said the environment was friendly at the start. That was until an Eagles fan sitting behind them began to make comments during the game.
“He started out with playful jabs at first or kind of just saying things to us right when we sat down,” Basara said. “I chatted with him for a bit. But then he just kept saying some of the same things. Continued through the entire game. It got worse and worse as the game went on. We were surrounded by Eagles fans. We were getting all the attention.”
Basara and Keller said the fan became nastier and more condescending as the Eagles’ lead over the Packers grew. When the fan asked Basara if he was having a good time, Basara told him “not too great.” That’s when the fan told the couple that they had “terrible attitudes,” according to Keller.
“He went on to say that when he was in third grade, his teacher taught him to have a great attitude. And he was just going on and on and on,” Keller said. “He wanted something out of us. So, I turned around, because I kind of had enough of it at this point, and I said, ‘Well, maybe you should go back to third grade then because it seems like you’re the one with the bad attitude. And it seems like all the fans around us are the ones with the bad attitudes.’”
Keller said the fan appeared to not have heard her at first. He then insulted her.
“And then he just said, ‘Actually, you’re not even good looking enough to be talking to me,’” Keller told NBC10. “And then I said, you know, ‘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.'”
Keller and Basara said the fan’s harassment continued. Basara then spoke to a man who he believed was the fan’s brother and asked if he could get him under control. Basara said he also offered to switch seats with Keller but she didn’t want to.
“We both paid for tickets. We should both be able to enjoy the game. It was kind of like a pride thing,” Keller said. “Where it was like, no, I’m going to stand my ground. He could say these words to me and be mean to me but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of changing my seat for him. And in hindsight, maybe I should’ve.”
A Philadelphia Eagles fan who was captured in a viral video harassing and insulting two Green Bay Packers fans during Sunday’s wild card game have been banned from Lincoln Financial Field, NBC10 confirmed. NBC10’s Johnny Archer spoke with the two Packers fans in the video who are both from Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Basara began to record the fan as the insults continued. In a video that went viral after Basara posted it on his X account, the fan could be heard calling Keller a “dips—” and a “c—.”
The couple said they felt the environment turning hostile.
“He was making personal jabs at me,” Keller said. “It’s one thing if he’s going, ‘F the Packers,’ or whatever. But he’s talking about my looks the whole time. So, it got personal at that point.”
Despite her anger, Keller told NBC10 she was hesitant to lash out too much.
“There’s no women. There’s nobody defending me. There’s all Eagles fans allowing this to happen,” she said. “So, I didn’t want to turn around and yell at this guy and then have my fiancé get jumped in the crowd. So I was I guess trying to stay calm but I was pretty fuming at that point and just hopeful that another fan would tell this guy to stop. And everyone just kind of stood around and I guess allowed him to call me that name.”
Basara also said he tried to keep calm in order to keep them both safe.
“Everyone else around you is an Eagles fan,” Basara said. “And for the people around us that didn’t hear it because it’s a loud environment, if it did turn into an altercation or something physical, all they see is me messing with an Eagles fan and then I become the target. And then what happens with my fiancée at that time in that scenario? It’s a dangerous situation.”
Basara said him recording the fan is ultimately what helped deescalate the situation.
“His friend realized he was being recorded and tapped him and he stopped,” Basara said. “That was my way of deescalating the situation and making sure that both of us got out safe. Which we did. We both got out safe and then later in the game we moved to the end of the row because at that point a lot of fans had left because the game was essentially over and we made sure to also leave before that group of people so they weren’t behind us walking down the steps.”
Basara said they left without contacting security because they didn’t realize there was a QR code with a security contact on their seats. They later spoke with the Eagles on Monday and the team apologized for the fan’s behavior. Despite reports stating the team would gift them free Packers gear, Basara and Keller said they haven’t received that message from the team as of yet.
“I’ve seen posts that they’re going to send me Packers gear but they haven’t reached out personally to say that,” Keller said. “So I don’t know if it’s just people just saying that.”
After their experience, Basara and Keller said the only Eagles games they’ll attend in the future will be in Green Bay.
“In Lambeau, sure. I don’t think we’ll go to Philly again just because at this rate I don’t know if it’s necessarily worth it,” Basara said. “And I know not every fan is like that and I really hope no one has to endure that. And that was kind of my point of posting that video. Hopefully, this will make people understand that’s not okay. That’s not okay to do.”
A spokesperson for the Eagles told NBC10 that the incident has been addressed and that the fan who harassed Basara and Keller won’t be allowed to attend any future events at Lincoln Financial Field.
In a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, the man 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 began as banter with two Packers fans sitting near me escalated to something more serious, and I said things that were unacceptable,” according to his statement. “In the heat of the moment, I chose unforgiving words to address one of the fans, Ms. Ally Keller. I want to sincerely apologize to Ms. Keller for those words, and to my wife, family, and friends, my former employer and colleagues, Packer fans, Eagle fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the City of Philadelphia, and all who were offended.”
NBC10 confirmed on Wednesday that the man was fired from the company BCT Partners, a management consulting firm based in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
The company released the following statement:
We, the management of BCT Partners, have concluded the internal personnel investigation regarding an employee who was caught on a video outside of the workplace making highly offensive and misogynistic statements. In keeping with our company values, which are firmly centered on respect, dignity, and inclusion, we have decided to part company with the employee. This separation is effective immediately.
We condemn our former employee’s conduct in the strongest possible terms. This individual’s conduct and language were vile, disgusting, unacceptable, and horrific and have no place in our workplace and society. Such conduct is not who we are and not what we stand for.
At the same time, again to be true to our values, we can condemn the actions without condemning the individual. None of us deserve to be remembered for actions taken on our worst day. We have offered grace and support to our former employee. We hope that he will grow and we all can learn from this deeply disturbing incident. That’s what real inclusion is and does. That is also who we are and what we stand for.
We sincerely apologize to the victim and for the many ways in which these events already have impacted so many people. We remain committed to gender equity and fostering a culture of respect and dignity for all.
