NFL Player Under Fire After Tweet Saying He Fears Gays Like He Does Spiders: 'I'd Scream if I Found One in My Bathtub

NFL linebacker Brandon Spikes has been left scrambling to scrub his Twitter account after he sent out a message comparing his fear of gays to his fear of spiders.

"I'm homophobic just like I'm arachnophonbic," the linebacker for the New England Patriots wrote yesterday. "I have nothing against homosexuals or spiders, but I'd still scream if I found one in my bathtub."

He faced almost immediate backlash and followed it up with another message saying he was just joking: "people. It's a joke. Seriously a joke. Chill out."

Both tweets have since been deleted, but MyFoxBoston.com captured them before they were scrubbed:

Neither the Patriots nor the NFL have responded, but Spikes could face disciplinary action for violating the league's conduct policy.