Brazilians take their soccer deadly serious. This was made quite clear to Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith at a drum clinic in Belo Horizonte on Sunday, when he comically disrespected a gift given to him by someone in the crowd.
In the video below, Smith can be seen tearing back the plastic to reveal the jersey of Clube de Regastas do Flamengo. Judging by the maniacal enthusiasm in the crowd, it’s not difficult to tell that there’s a particularly high emotional connection to the team jersey. So how does Chad acknowledge this connection? By shoving it down the back of his pants, of course!
Smith mock wiped his ass with the jersey, then tossed it over his shoulder – and the tide turned like the flip of a lightswitch. What resulted was raw outrage, both in the room and in the comments beneath the video, which include death threats.
Smith has since apologized on Twitter, but Brazilians may need a while before they can return to a warm embrace of the RHCP kit man.
I want to apologize for my inappropriate antics at the drum clinic,my joke about team rivalries went too far. Flamenco fans…I'm sorry.
— Chad Smith (@RHCPchad) November 8, 2013
