On March 23, 2012, Rivera made comments regarding Trayvon Martin's hoodie and how the hoodie was connected to Martin's shooting death, specifically claiming that Martin would not have been shot if he was not wearing the hoodie, repeating them on subsequent occasions. Rivera apologized for any offense that he caused with the comments. His son Gabriel said that he was "ashamed". Some people found the apology as disingenuous; among those who did not accept it was Rivera's longtime friend Russell Simmons. He later apologized to Trayvon Martin's parents as well.