HOUSTON — An attempt at humor from the Houston Texans combined with well wishes in regards to a major Jewish holiday quickly backfired Friday, as a tweet from the NFL team's official account quickly caused a stir on social media.
"Happy Passover to all who celebrate!" Houston's NFL team tweeted Friday. But the photoshopped images of Brandin Cooks and Brevin Jordan holding matzah caused a stir.
The reaction was nearly instant and mixed among fans, whose replies ranged from humor to offense, and not the kind of offense in the game of football.
"I'm not sure yall know what passover is, with a tweet like this," one fan wrote in response.
"Passover is a celebration of the story of Exodus, wherein Jews remember their ancestors leaving slavery," another wrote. "Probably could do something a little less, uh, disrespectful to both Jews and African Americans. Just a thought."
Sportsradio 610 co-host Seth Payne pointed out that it's possible those offended aren't aware of the holiday.
"The Texans have offended people who are too lazy to google Passover," Payne wrote.
Another fan was split on their thoughts about the images.
"As a Rabbi, this is funny," @ThinkingYid tweeted. "As a football fan, I don't get it..."
More than two hours after its debut on the platform, the tweet generated thousands of likes.
"Umm sorry, but while it's a nice sentiment, the joke fell flat," @DatingRev wrote.
While calls mounted for the tweet to be deleted, others begged the organization to leave it up.
Passover, the celebration of the Jewish people's exodus from Egypt, begins at sundown on the 15th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar.
Matzah, a crisp, flat, unleavened bread, is the only type of bread Jews are allowed to eat during Passover and is typically served during the Passover Seder, a ritual feast marking the beginning of the holiday, according to Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, a popular contributor to kosher education and Jewish causes.
KHOU 11 News has reached out to the Houston Texans about the tweet.
