SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (WKRC/KSTU/CNN Newsource) – The man who was recently removed from an MLS game because he has a white supremacy tattoo, said it’s not who he is anymore and he’s trying to leave his shameful past behind him.
Jonathan Pangburn has served some time in prison for crimes he’s committed. He said the tattoos on his body are from his past and that he’s turning his life around.
“My tattoos affect me and they offend me more than they offend anybody else today. And I am filled with regret and shame every time I go into public,” said Pangburn.
Pangburn is in the process of removing his tattoos, not just the one that got him removed from the MLS game, but all of the other hate symbols.
On Wednesday night’s Real Salt Lake match, security asked him to leave the stadium because of his SS lightning bolt tattoo on the side of his head. The tattoo is a symbol of Nazism and white supremacy. A photographer at the match even spotted it and tweeted out a photo of the tattoo.
People were outraged by it and Pangburn said he knows he made a mistake.
“My intention is to not try to disperse any negativity or hatred in people, and really, I’m just trying to get out there, just be part of the community and spread my message of change,” said Pangburn. “I know I dropped the ball, I could have covered up my tattoos and worn a hat.”
Pangburn is in recovery and recently graduated from The Other Side Academy. A place to help “those facing long-term incarceration as well as those seeking a change from the life they’ve chosen in the past.”
He hopes that his story can inspire others to change too.
“I know that if I can break away from a life of how I used to live with Nazism, skinhead philosophy, I know that my story can help other people break away from it as well,” said Pangburn.
