Eagles Call DeSean Jackson's Anti-Semitic IG Posts 'Appalling'; Will Take Action
July 7, 2020
The Philadelphia Eagles issued a statement regarding DeSean Jackson's posting of anti-Semitic comments attributed to Adolf Hitler.
The team said it had reached out to Jackson and that the content in his posts was "offensive, harmful and absolutely appalling." The Eagles added they are "continuing to evaluate the circumstances and will take appropriate action."
The NFL also issued a statement on the posts, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network:
"DeSean’s comments were highly inappropriate, offensive and divisive and stand in stark contrast to the NFL’s values of respect, equality and inclusion. We have been in contact with the team which is addressing the matter with DeSean."
Warning: Anti-Semitic quotes follow.
Jackson shared a picture of a passage alleging that "Jews will blackmail America" to hide that "the Negroes are the real Children of Israel."
"The will extort America, their plan for world domination won't work if Negroes know who they were," the quote read.
In a pair of since-deleted Instagram posts, Jackson also spoke highly of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam who has made multiple anti-Semitic comments in the past.
"This man powerful," the three-time Pro Bowler said in one post.
Jackson uploaded a video to Instagram to address the matter and issued an apology in the caption:
"I post a lot of things that are sent to me. I do not have hatred towards anyone. I really didn't realize what this passage was saying. Hitler has caused terrible pain to Jewish people like the pain African-Americans have suffered. We should be together fighting anti-Semitism and racism. This was a mistake to post this and I truly apologize for posting it and sorry for any hurt I have caused."
Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice raised doubt about the veracity of the quote attributed to Hitler, writing it was "dubious at best, traced backward to e-books published by authors of little repute." However, that does little to make Jackson's post acceptable.
The Southern Poverty Law Center also has a profile dedicated to Farrakhan, writing he "routinely accuses Jews of manipulating the U.S. government and controlling the levers of world power."
Jackson is entering the second year of his three-year, $27.9 million deal with the Eagles.