(Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
By Anthony Payero
(WASHINGTON) Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins was caught partying without a mask at a strip club Sunday, via an Instagram post. Haskins issued an apology Tuesday noting this could become his second COVID-19 safety violation of the season, NBC News reports.
In an apology shared on his Twitter, the 23-year-old said he spoke to Washington head coach Ron Rivera on Monday and "took full accountability for putting the team at risk."
"It was irresponsible and immature of me and I accept responsibility for my action," Haskins wrote.
In a follow-up tweet, Haskins added he apologized for "creating a distraction for my team during our playoff push."
Haskins has since updated his privacy settings on Twitter, hiding all of his social media from the public. However, multiple media outlets — including the Associated Press and the official NFL Network — noticed the tweets and reported on them. The tweets can be seen above, shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The NFL served Haskins a fine for almost $5,000 this season for violating COVID-19 protocols after making reservations for a family friend at the team's hotel, but in that case, the exposure risk was avoided because the reservation was discovered and scrapped prior to the friend's arrival, according to NBC News.
The league has not decided on whether Haskins will be punished, nor has the Washington Football Team, after the apparent COVID-19 protocol violation.
NBC News reports an NFL spokesperson listed Haskins as still being able to play in Washington's upcoming game Sunday despite the strip club fiasco. The team may still discipline him for his risky conduct regarding the violation.
Sean DeBarbieri, a spokesperson for the Washington Football Team revealed the team contacted the NFL Monday.
"From the team’s perspective, we are aware of the social media posts and were in contact with the NFL yesterday," he said. "We’re going to keep the rest of this in-house. We’re fully focused on our game on Sunday against Carolina."