Austin Metcalf’s Father Explodes On Karmelo Anthony’s Parents

The father of slain Texas teenager Austin Metcalf blasted the parents of Karmelo Anthony as “cowards,” accusing them of making the high-profile murder case about race. 

Jeff Metcalf made the comments shortly after a jury sentenced the 19-year-old Anthony to 35 years in prison for murdering 17-year-old Metcalf with a knife at a track meet in Texas in April 2025.

After Anthony’s sentencing, Metcalf spoke on a three-hour stream hosted by independent journalist Sarah Fields on the JinxedSip podcast. He gave his thoughts on the trial, the racial issues at play during the trial, and his emotions about the lengthy ordeal. 

Anthony’s parents, Andrew Anthony and Kayla Hayles, blamed the conviction and sentencing of their son on racism in a recent interview with CBS.

“Drew Anthony. Kayla. You’re cowards. You wouldn’t even show up for your son’s sentencing or victim’s statement impacts. You abandoned your kid. You left him there. I guess he’s no more use to you because you can’t get any more GoFundMe money or [GiveSendGo] money. You are grifters. You should be ashamed of yourself,” he said. “You raised that child, and I swear to God, CPS should come check on those other three that you still have.”

Anthony’s family raised over $600,000 after the murder. 

“You never once admitted or took accountability. You tried to play victim.
The real victim is the one who died, not the one who shoved a knife in his chest,” he added. “I come to pray with you and show the world we can close the gap of this unbelievable racial divide. And what’d you do? Widen the gap even further.”

Metcalf was referring to how he was turned away from a press conference hosted by the Anthony family after the killing. 

“I feel sorry for that young man,” Metcalf said of Anthony. “He’s fixing to live a living hell. Not that he doesn’t deserve it. Yes, he does. But I’m human. And I’m sorry. I don’t wish harm or ill will on anyone.
It’s not the Christian thing to do, man. It’s not the way I was raised. It’s not what I was taught. I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. I just know it is what it is.”

Metcalf also commented on the racial politics at play in the case. Leftist activists claim that Anthony was only convicted because he was black and have complained that there were no black jurors. 

“Because you can’t be unbiased, you dumb sh*ts. If you answer the question, ‘I can’t send a black man to jail because he’s black,’ they’re not getting on the jury. You’re so unintelligent, you can’t even fill out a form correctly,” Metcalf said. “You don’t even know who your f*cking daddy is because 78% of you don’t have your father in the home anymore. You got baby mamas running around with eight kids so they can get EBT cards to feed you all.
You think I’m being racist? No, I’m being real, because [it’s not] only black people. White people do the same sh*t. 
I’ll call them out just as hard as I’ll call you out.”

Metcalf also said that he raised his sons not to judge people by the color of their skin. 

“We don’t see color. We’re not racist. We have friends of all diversities, nationality, ethnicities. It doesn’t matter,” he said. ‘Justice doesn’t see color. Hate doesn’t see color. Love doesn’t see color.”

He also said he never wanted race to be part of the trial.

“From day one, I said this was never about race. Please, don’t make it about race and don’t politicize it. And what did you do? You chose both. The race card, black fatigue. It’s real. I’m sorry.
You have embarrassed your own culture and race. Don’t get me wrong.
We got a lot of [white] people that embarrass the sh*t out of me too. But you guys, you got a patent on that sh*t. And the only people who’re going to change it
are you. Don’t blame the white person ’cause we can’t change it. But you’re gonna blame the white person for every f*cking thing else.”

“You can do everything in America that I can do. Tell me one thing, you can’t do that I can’t do. We all have equal rights,” he added. 

At one point during the stream, he referred to Anthony as a “watermelon felon” while mocking the activists who have tried to make the case about race. 

“Let me make something racist up so … go viral. I got a new name for Mello, OK? Because he was such this little boy you [were] always trying to portray. How about ‘watermelon felon?’ 
How’s that one strike you?” he said. “I hope he enjoyed his first night in his cell last night because he’s going to have many nights to think about what the f*ck he did. I forgave him, so I don’t carry the hate and the anger.”

The interview with Fields was the first after a gag order ended after the trial wrapped up on Tuesday. 

“Jeff Metcalf was given the floor without interruption. After being under a gag order for a year, he could finally speak raw and unfiltered,” Fields said. “THIS is what independent journalism is about. The mainstream media never would have dared.”