Cris Carter Apologizes for 'Fall Guy' Comments on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown

On ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, Cris Carter issued an apology for comments he made at the 2014 NFL Rookie Symposium.

During the broadcast, Carter acknowledged he was in the wrong (via Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith):

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It's really hard to go through my thought process. I can't make an excuse for what my mindset was. My heart was in the right place. I didn't use words that I was very proud of. It's not the kind of advice I would offer young people. I would never tell young people to break the law or avoid prosecution. It was bad advice. I really, really regret my words when I heard them come back to me.

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Standing alongside Warren Sapp at the symposium, the Hall of Fame wide receiver told the assembled crop of incoming rookies they needed to find a "fall guy" who would be willing to face legal consequences should any of the players find themselves in trouble, per Smith.

The NFL distanced itself from Carter's speech.

"The comment was not representative of the message of the symposium or any other league program," it said in a statement, per ESPN.com. "The league's player engagement staff immediately expressed concern about the comment to Cris. The comment was not repeated in the 2014 AFC session or this year's symposium."

Carter also took to Twitter to express regret:

Although Carter has apologized, his words had a distinct impact on at least one rookie in attendance: Chris Borland, the former San Francisco 49ers linebacker who retired in March after his first season in the NFL.

In a story by Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada for ESPN The Magazine, Borland called attention to Carter's "fall guy" monologue.

"I was just sitting there thinking, 'Should I walk out? What am I supposed to do?'" Borland recalled.

Fainaru and Fainaru-Wada wrote that "the incident stayed with [Borland]."