The September 14, 2019, ESPN College Football game was reached into another fame after a young fan was spotted hosting a hilarious sign requesting for “beer money.” Something that was planned as a joke turned into a good cause. Carson King’s plea was heard by thousands of people, and his Venmo account quickly saw $600 (Rs 42,500 approx.) which is when he decided to turn it into a charity. King’s noble cause made him a social media sensation and made international headlines. So far, the Iowa football enthusiast raised $1M, which he will donate to Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. But when you stand as an inspiration, changes are at extreme that you would even land in controversy. And that is what has happened to the 24-year-old. He has been slammed by a local journalist for his old racist tweets that he posted eight years ago. ESPN College Football Fan’s ‘Beer Money’ Request Helps Raise $1 Million for Iowa Children’s Hospital; Know More About His Inspiration Viral Story. 

King’s feel-good story prompted editors of the Des Moines Register to send their in house reporter Aaron Calvin to meet King for a profile story. Meanwhile, during routine research, Calvin came across an 8-year-old tweet, when King was 16, where he seemed to mock black women and the Holocaust. The reporter approached King with the tweets, and he admitted for posting them. Before the Register published its story, King called a press conference to apologise. He was quoted in reports as saying, “I am so embarrassed and stunned to reflect on what I thought was funny when I was 16 years old. I want to sincerely apologize. Thankfully, high school kids grow up and hopefully become responsible and caring adults.”

The football fan even lauded the reporter for bringing the old tweets to his attention. And as it was expected, this revelation led to Anheuser-Busch Cos. Announcing that it would end partnership with King. As the news gained international attention, Register published a lengthy statement explaining how it struggled with the question of whether or not to report King’s old tweets.

Here's the Statement:

On the other hand, some social media users did their background check of Calvin. Well, they found offensive tweets on his account. The Washington Post reported that his tweets appeared to mock the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Calvin made his Twitter account private. But before doing so, he apologised for the old posts through the social media platform. The Register tweeted on Wednesday night that they are aware of reports of inappropriate social media posts by one of their staffers and that investigation has begun. They did not name the staff.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2019 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).