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Fox News broadcaster Geraldo Rivera has come under fire after he said Blacks and Latinos who wear hoodies are asking to get shot.
Even the 68-year-old's own son Cruz has spoken out against his father's stance, saying he is 'ashamed' of the TV personality's comments.
Rivera caused outrage when he was discussing the case of Trayvon Martin, 17, during an appearance on 'Fox and Friends' this morning.
He claimed the unarmed teenager's hoodie was as much to blame for his death as the shooter.
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Fox News Channel commentator Geraldo Rivera speaks on the 'Fox & friends' claiming that Trayvon Martin's hoodie is as much responsible for his death as the neighborhood watch captain who shot him
The 68-year-old broadcaster claims that if the Trayvon Martin, pictured, was not wearing a hoodie he would not have been shot and killed
He told the panel on the show that he doesn't allow his children to wear the clothing, saying: 'I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as George Zimmerman was.'
Rivera aired his views just minutes after President Obama appeared to fuel the national outcry over the killing by saying Traydon's death made him 'think of my own kids'.
The chat show host received much criticism almost immediately after making the comments.
Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, pursued and gunned down Martin after claiming the teen looked 'suspicious' as he walked home in a gated community in Orlando last month.
'I believe that George Zimmerman, the overzealous neighborhood watch captain, should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law and if he is criminally liable, he should be prosecuted,' Rivera said.
'But I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies.'
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Rivera, right, said that he would bet money that Martin, left, would nothave been killed if he had been been dressed more 'appropriately' Write caption here
The chat show host, pictured left, received much criticism almost immediately after making the comments, including from his own son Cruz, who was said to be 'ashamed' by his father
The panel appeared to be nodding in agreement as Rivera launched into his long-winded speech about how wearing a hoodie can draw minority youngsters unwanted attention because of the negative stereotypes associated with people that dress to look 'gangster'.
Rivera said he constantly yelled a at his 'dark-skinned' son Cruz for going out wearing a 'damn hoodie or those pants around his ankles.'
However, the hoodie has become a symbol of protest in Trayvon's death, which has sparked several rallies, including one in New York on Wednesday; the One Million Hoodie March.
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Rivera said that he doesn't allow his son Cruz, who he is pictured with here, to wear hoodies because of the negative stereotypes associated with the clothing
Rivera was criticized for his comments on Twitter and posted a Tweet to say even his own son was ashamed of his position on the subject, pictured
But Rivera said that the hoodies will always be a symbol of crime which causes people to fear those wearing them.
'You’re not gonna rehabilitate the hoodie. Stop wearing it,' he said.
He stressed that he wasn't suggesting that the Miami teen was carrying a weapon but his outfit had allowed someone to respond in an 'irrational, overzealous' way.
'Trayvon Martin's, you know, God bless him, he's an innocent kid, a wonderful kid, a box of Skittles in his hand. He didn't deserve to die.
'But I'll bet you money, if he didn't have that hoodie on, that - that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn't have responded in that violent and aggressive way.'
Despite a backlash on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, the verteran TV personality stood by his comments.
'If you dress like a hoodlum eventually some schmuck is going to take you at your word,' he wrote in a commentary posted Friday on the website Fox News Latino.
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