A Real Salt Lake fan was ejected from a football stadium after he was spotted with an offensive tattoo on the side of his head.
Jonathan Pangburn has the lightning bolt symbol of the Schutzstaffel (the Nazi guard) tattooed above his left ear, a symbol often seen on white supremacists.
Pangburn was rushed out of the stadium during the match against Real Salt Lake on July 3. A photo of him before he was asked to leave has since gone viral.
But hoping to set the record straight, Pangburn stepped forward. He said KSTU that he is “ashamed” of the tattoo and that it stems from a past identity that he is no longer proud of. He says, “My tattoos affect me, and they hurt me more than anyone else.”
Pangburn also has a swastika tattooed on his leg, which he is also having removed, and a smaller one on his arm.
Jonathan Pangburn has the lightning bolt symbol used by the Schutzstaffel – the Nazi guard – tattooed above his left ear. It is now widely used by white supremacists
Pangburn told Alaska News Source that he used to “live with Nazism and the skinhead philosophy” but has since broken with it.
When he got the tattoos, he was regularly in prison and struggling with addiction.
He says he is now ashamed of the symbols, which include the SS insignia on his head and a swastika on his left calf, and is in the process of having them removed.
“Every time I go out in public I feel regret and shame,” he said.
But he admitted he dropped the ball during the football match: ‘I could have covered my tattoos and worn a hat.’
He stressed that it is not his intention to “spread negativity or hatred among people” and said he is now working to turn his life around.
Pangburn recently graduated from Other Side Academy in Salt Lake City, which serves people with a history of addiction.
“It teaches you how to love, gives you a new life, teaches you about friendship, responsibility and humility,” he said.
A photo of Pangburn during the match against Real Salt Lake went viral on July 3 and he was quickly escorted out of the stadium
Despite his intentions, Marc Levine, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, told local news that the symbols are still offensive.
He said: ‘Hate has no place in our sports stadiums.
“This is a very haunting and frightening thing for people here in the United States today. That hatred has a very long shadow.
“We also know that hateful rhetoric often leads to hateful actions. So this can be very frightening to watch.”
Still, Pangburn’s friends defended him. For example, Evan Done of Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness wrote on Facebook: “I know this man.
‘He got those tattoos to survive in prison (where he spent most of his life) and in the last few years he has completely turned his life around.
“He told me he had to keep his hair short because of the ongoing laser treatments to remove it.”