Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson called out for social media posts
A look at why Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson called out for his social media posts
Drew Brees received visceral backlash last month for his stance on kneeling during the national anthem. Now, those who spoke out against the New Orleans Saints quarterback have remained largely silent when it comes to DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic posts on Instagram.
Jackson, who is currently a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, posted quotes falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler and praised noted anti-Semitic preacher Louis Farrakhan. He highlighted three paragraphs from a book that attributed the quotes to Hitler and shared it on his Instagram.
The passage reads:
“Hitler said, ‘because the white Jews knows [sic] that the Negros are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americas secret the Jews will black mail America.
‘[They] will extort America, their pan to world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.
‘The white citizens of America will be terrified to know that all this time they’ve been mistreating and discriminating and lynching Children of Israel.’”
The Philly Voice noted that the passage appears to be from the book “Jerusalem,” which attributed the quote to “The Nazis World War II.”
Jackson then posted two pictures of noted anti-Semitic preacher Louis Farrakhan. He praised Farrakhan as “powerful” and posted a clip about him warning against vaccines.
In the wake of it all, there were no Twitter threads from any current NFL player about whether Jackson was wrong or any teammate of Jackson’s saying that he was “part of the problem” like some did for Brees when he said he would never agree with someone who knelt during the national anthem.
New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan, at most, retweeted a message from Fox Sports’ Joy Taylor, which read: “What DeSean Jackson posted was wrong and ignorant. There is no defense for it. I’m glad he apologized and has taken action. Hopefully he will continue to take the time and energy to learn why what he posted was hurtful. Growth and empathy are important from all of us right now.”
Jackson’s Eagles teammates were quick to accept his apology with some retweeting his second statement he posted on Twitter later Tuesday. No upcoming opponents said they looked forward to playing Jackson and no one questioned whether Jackson was truly forthcoming in his apology.
Jackson even found support from ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson and former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson.
Former Eagles president Joe Banner was quick to denounce Jackson’s comments. He tweeted: “If a white player said anything about AA’s as outrageous as what Desean Jackson said about Jews tonight there would at least be a serious conversation about cutting him and a need for a team meeting to discuss. Which would be totally appropriate. Absolutely indefensible.”
Former NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz told the New York Post he wasn’t surprised that there wasn’t more of an outcry over the posts because of the lack of Jewish players in the NFL. In comparison to the Black Lives Matter movement, Schwartz said that initiative hits closer to home for most players.
“I think part of it is most of the people who have spoken out over issues that have happened in our country, they’re very and dear to their hearts, right?” he said. “A lot of Jewish athletes aren’t speaking up about this because there’s not a lot of us, there’s like three in the NFL. I think some of them don’t feel comfortable talking about it, and why should they?
“With Black Lives Matter a lot of players who aren’t Black agree with the movement and are supportive of the movement. There’s just not a lot of Jewish players. I’m not surprised no one stood up for the Jewish people about these comments. That doesn’t really outrage me, though. I’m like ‘Alright, I didn’t expect anyone to stand up for Jewish people.’”
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The Eagles released a statement on Jackson’s post.
“We have spoken with DeSean Jackson about his social media posts. Regardless of his intentions, the messages he shared were offensive, harmful and absolutely appalling. They have no place in our society, and are not condoned or supported in any way by the organization," it said. "We are disappointed and we reiterated to DeSean the importance of not only apologizing, but also using his platform to take action to promote unity, equality and respect. We are continuing to evaluate the circumstances and will take appropriate action. We take these matters very seriously and are committed to continuing to have productive and meaningful conversations with DeSean, as well as all of our players and staff, in order to educate, learn and grow.”
Jackson issued two apologies over his posts later Tuesday.
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