After the Washington Redskins blew a lead and lost a tough game to the Kansas City Chiefs, cell phone video caught receiver Terrelle Pryor flicking the bird and shouting obscenities at fans as he walked up an Arrowhead Stadium tunnel. Redskins strength and conditioning coach Chad Englehart restrained Pryor and helped usher him toward the locker room.

At first glance, it didn’t look good for Pryor, who can be seen cursing out the fan and raising a middle finger. But Pryor took to Instagram Wednesday night to give his side of the story (language warning):

Pryor said he was called the n-word “several times to the point where an NFL employee had to step to me and stand by me the whole game from second quarter on” and noted that such racist treatment “is the exact reason why guys are kneeling during the anthem.” Pryor himself did not kneel during the anthem prior to the game, preferring to stand unified as a team.

Pryor further apologized to his teammates and the Redskins organization, but noted in closing, “at some point you keep calling us The N word .. we going to start acting up. #straightlikethat.”

The particular fan Pryor is citing isn’t audible on the TMZ video, although plenty of other abusive language is. You could make a case that NFL players deserve a bit of jeering from the stands as part of the paychecks they cash, but there’s a hard line. There’s no excuse in 2017 for anyone to use such racist terms and claim any kind of innocence.

More NFL coverage from Yahoo Sports:

____
Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.