Ex-NFL placekicker Jay Feely would probably have escaped without criticism had he not remained a public figure through his association with CBS Sports. The controversy stems from a picture he posted on Twitter with his teenage daughter and her prom date. In the photo, Feely stands between them brandishing a hand gun. The captions reads: "Wishing my beautiful daughter and her date a great time at prom #BadBoys."
https://twitter.com/_/status/987853794221350912
The picture posted on Saturday quickly received backlash for its "insensitive" content. Some Twitter users were quick to presume that Feely was insecure about his masculinity, and thought the use of the gun was not only in poor taste, but also a euphemism loaded with sexual connotations (gulp). On the other side of the argument, other users simply insisted that Feely was playing up an age old dad joke about overprotective fathers, tracing it back to the famous "Boyfriend at the door" scene in Bad Boys 2.
https://twitter.com/_/status/988078294640873472
Never the less, people in America have been set off by gun violence, the mere mention of a firearm poses a threat to somebody's agenda. Feely sensing the underlying issues at play, forwarded an apology on his Twitter page this afternoon. There is no right or wrong in this situation, only sensitivity in response.