Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson said he has no hatred toward the Jewish community and issued two separate statements of apology with “a promise to do better” after he posted on social media earlier this month that caused a wave of criticism.
The Eagles responded by calling Jackson’s posts “offensive, harmful and absolutely appalling” and said the team would take “appropriate action.”
The controversy spun out of Jackson’s Instagram story, on which he featured a quote he attributed to Hitler that said white Jews “will blackmail America. [They] will extort America, their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.”
Among the many people to put him on blast was Charles Barkley.
Barkley called out Jackson and others in a recent video, questioning the motives of all involved.
“Listen, DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson, Nick Cannon, Ice Cube,” Barkley said, via NBC Sports. “Man, what the hell are y’all doing? Y’all want racial equality. We all do. I don’t understand how insulting another group helps our cause. And the only person who called y’all on it was Kareem. We can’t allow Black people to be prejudiced, also. Especially if we’re asking for white folks to respect us, give us economic opportunity and things like that. I’m so disappointed in these men. I don’t understand how you beat hatred with more hatred.”
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“We have spoken with DeSean Jackson about his social media posts,” the Eagles said in their statement. “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.
“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.”
