A founder of the popular breaking company Backyard Breaks issued an apology Thursday and said he is stepping away from the company following a series of sexually explicit comments made about a minor during a livestream earlier this week.
Grant Telford, one of three company co-founders, issued the apology in a joint statement with the flagship Backyard Breaks Instagram account.
“I would like to sincerely apologize about the comments I made on stream Tuesday. My words and actions were completely inappropriate, and to say I crossed the line is an understatement. There’s absolutely no excuse for what I said,” Telford wrote on Instagram.
“An apology alone isn’t enough. I will be taking some time off and stepping away from the Backyard to reflect on my actions and I will be seeking help to hold myself accountable moving forward,” he added.
During a box break, which was hosted on streaming platform Whatnot, Telford and Backyard Breaks member “Bugzy” exchanged remarks about Telford’s hypothetical future daughter that many have described as the sexualization of a child and labeled as highly offensive.
Video of the livestream showed an attempted apology from Telford before the stream appeared to end early.
A request by cllct for additional comment on the controversy wasn’t returned by Telford. Additional requests to other members of the Backyard Breaks team also went unanswered.
Backyard Breaks issued a statement on social media Friday night, saying the company is reviewing its policy for live streams "to ensure this does not happen again."
"This moment does not reflect how we conduct ourselves as an organization, nor the care and professionalism our breakers consistently demonstrate" the statement added.
As of Friday afternoon, Whatnot had not responded to multiple requests from cllct for comment on the future of Backyard Breaks on the platform.
In the days following the first livestream, thousands of community members took to social media to protest the comments made by Telford as well as the inaction by Whatnot and some of Backyard Breaks’ largest partners.
One petition, which called for Backyard Breaks to be banned from Whatnot as well as the 2025 National Sports Collectors Convention, had reached more than 2,600 signatures early Friday afternoon.
Fanatics declined a request by cllct for comment on its relationship with Backyard Breaks.
Multiple requests for comment from grading giant PSA, which hosted Backyard Breaks at its headquarters in 2024, also went unanswered.
Best known for content that often teeters between edgy at best and offensive at worst, Backyard Breaks was founded in 2021 and has quickly become one of the largest companies of any kind in the trading card hobby. According to Backyard Breaks’ website, the company has served more than 60,000 customers and grown from five employees to more than 80 over the last four years.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.