Bijan Robinson Apologizes For 'Insensitive Comment' On 'Thursday Night Football'

Bijan Robinson is expressing his regret over repeating the controversial name of a playground game during an interview ... saying even though he didn't mean any disrespect by uttering "smear the queer" on live TV, it shouldn't have come out of his mouth.

The Atlanta Falcons star was chopping it up with the Prime Video crew after his team's big win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on "Thursday Night Football" ... when Richard Sherman praised his ability to avoid being tackled throughout the contest.

Robinson had 93 yards and a touchdown on the ground ... and 82 yards through the air in the 29-28 win.

23-year-old Robinson chalked it all up to an activity he played with his friends on the playground ... replying, "Smear the queer, that's what we do. Smear the queer."

Ex-NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick quickly chimed in ... calling the game the more accepted term, "Kill the carrier."

Even though hardly anyone thought Robinson meant any harm with what he said, he quickly went to social media to share his remorse over using the phrase.

"Hey everyone I want to apologize for the insensitive comment I made in the broadcast, it was a football game we used to play as a kid but that’s not an excuse," Robinson said.

"I recognize the mistake and make sure to do better in the future. It was not reflective of my beliefs, and I am so sorry to those I offended seriously!"

Here's the thing -- the name for the keep-away game has been phased out over the years out of respect for the LGBTQ+ community ... and has since been replaced by more accepted titles.

There has been a debate over whether its origin had any derogatory intent to begin with ... but either way, folks have substituted it for the modern-day names.