Fox’s Geraldo Rivera: I’m Sorry for Hoodie Comment

Fox News Channel commentator Geraldo Rivera said Tuesday that he’s sorry for suggesting that a hoodie worn by unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was as much responsible for his death as the neighborhood watch captain who shot him.

Rivera said a conversation with his oldest son on Monday convinced him he was wrong. Rivera said it was the first time 32-year-old Gabriel Rivera had said he was ashamed of something his dad had said — and it caused the dad a sleepless night.

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Rivera’s comments last week triggered an angry response among people concerned about the case involving the 17-year-old Martin, who was carrying a bag of candy and a can of iced tea while returning to the Sanford, Fla., home of his father’s fiancée when he was shot last month.

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Rivera said he was apologizing “for offending anyone.”

“I apologize for the language,” he said. “I don’t apologize at all for the substance of my advice. I was trying to save lives.”

{snip} Rivera said he wanted urban parents to realize that clothing their children wear — such as hooded T-shirts or low-slung pants — could appear menacing to people who don’t know them and could put them unnecessarily in danger.

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“I wanted to provoke a response,” he said. “I never expected it to be a viral avalanche.”