Dallas weatherman says ‘slain thugs’ comment that led him to resign had no racist intent

Mothers who have lost children to gun violence, part of the Mothers of the Movement group, spoke during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The Facebook message, posted Wednesday, said, “As many of you have probably noticed, I’ve stayed away from politics on FB. The DNC parading the mothers of slain thugs around on their stage has me furious.”

The comment came after black women whose children have died while in custody, in police shootings or other gun violence took the stage at the Democratic National Convention.

Goosmann later posted a comment on dallasnews.com that said he didn’t mean to denigrate the mothers or the lives lost.

“I was angry that the DNC used these mothers to garner votes, and that was it,” he wrote.

He said some thought he was making a racial statement and he’s sorry it caused such trouble for those who did.

“I used the word thugs in my post, but I thought a thug was just a violent person. The definition of thug does not mention any race,” he wrote. “I will say I talked with an African American acquaintance and he told me that he feels like when he hears the word, it is in reference to an African American individual. I had NO IDEA.”