A man who resigned from a college advisory board in Pennsylvania after being caught on video hurling racist slurs recently apologized for the remarks, drawing reactions from local leaders and community members.
Jonathan Spanos, a restaurateur in York, Pennsylvania, issued a public apology after a video surfaced on X showing him shouting the N-word and admitting he’s a racist during a confrontation with another person.
In the 40-second clip, Spanos can be heard yelling, “Your half n— brother,” multiple times and saying, “I am a racist.”
During a press conference last week, Spanos said that after the video caught the attention of the local community, a “small group of pastors and leaders reached out” to challenge and correct him. He said that leaders of the Black Ministers Association, NAACP of York County, and the Confronting Racism Coalition reached out to offer him guidance.
Spanos explained that the video caught him in the middle of a heated family confrontation in which he “intentionally used the most ugly language” to “lash out in anger.”
“I repeatedly used the N-word to inflict pain on another person and sarcastically stated that I was a racist,” Spanos said in the press conference. “I was wrong for not walking away from that volatile situation. I was wrong for responding in anger with hateful language. I was wrong for using a racist term that has caused trauma in our country, country, and to my fellow neighbors in York.”
Spanos added that he was “humiliated and embarrassed’ by his behavior and that his community deserves better from him.
“To the members of my community who are Black and Brown, I want to say how truly sorry I am for my language and behavior. I bear complicit ownership and account for what I have done and atone,” he said.
Spanos also stated that he never thought he was a racist, but local pastors reminded him that “the mouth speaks what flows out of the heart in times of anger” and that he hopes God will uncover “offensive ways and words within” him.”
He ended his apology with, “My prayer is that God can use this painful situation to change me and somehow use it for the greater good of our community, our overall state that we are both beloved to, and to also heal our nation, which is so divisive at this time.”
Spanos, the owner of a local restaurant called the Paddock Restaurant on Market, also served on the advisory board for Penn State’s York campus. After the video began circulating, Penn State York released a statement saying college officials were looking into the matter. Shortly afterward, Spanos resigned from his post on the board.
Local NAACP leaders condemned Spanos’ racist remarks after the video went viral. They demanded he resign from leadership positions and called for Penn State York to facilitate open town hall forums about racism.
Sherry Washington, the incoming president of the local NAACP chapter, stated that branch members attended the press conference to hear Spanos’ apology and reiterated the group’s desire for more open discussion.
“While we stand here together today collectively, by no means does our presence at this conference signify all is well,” Washington told local news outlets. “Because all is not well, and all is not well in our beloved community. When we speak, healing happens. It is our hope these discussions will take place quickly and swiftly.”
One member of the Confronting Racism Coalition of York said Spanos’ apology marks “important first steps on the long road towards healing, equity, inclusion and reconciliation.”
William Kerney, president of the Black Ministers’ Association of York County, said that Spanos’ racist comments were “not just careless words but issues of the heart” and expressed his hopes that Spanos would see the damage they caused.
While some community members accepted Spanos’ apology, others didn’t buy his remorse.
“He’s just sorry he was caught spewing racial slurs! If you talk like that, that’s what you really believe. No apology can fix it. I have patronized [his] restaurant for over 25 years. I’ll NEVER go back!” one person wrote on Facebook.
“This man said it with his whole chest. He did not care what might happen because he did not expect repercussions. Now that the repercussions are here, he is sorry. That’s not a sincere apology. Nobody is required to accept it,” another commenter added.
“No apology will ever take away the hate that he spewed out of his mouth, clearly he’s always been a racist and never been humble it appears,” someone else stated. “I pray he finds forgiveness but doubtful his heart will change with the so called apology he put forth.”
