Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson issued an apology on Tuesday afternoon following a controversy that stemmed from anti-Semitic Instagram posts he made over the weekend. At the heart of the controversy was Jackson’s decision to post a quote that is purportedly falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler, which you can read here.
Beyond that post, ESPN wrote that Jackson shared a pair of since-delete posts that expressed admiration for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who is classified as an anti-Semite by both the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. The Eagles’ owner, Jeffrey Lurie, and general manager, Howie Roseman, are both Jewish, and in a statement released on Tuesday, the franchise expressed that it finds Jackson’s posts unacceptable.
“We have spoken with DeSean Jackson about his social media posts,” the Eagles said in a 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.”
Jackson, in response to all of this, posted a video to his Instagram account in which he said, “My post was definitely not intended for anybody of any race to feel any type of way, especially the Jewish community. What I posted, I definitely didn’t mean it to the extent that you guys took it, and I just wanted to let you guys know that I’m, you know, very apologetic, and I just want you guys to understand that it never was intended … to put any race down or any religion down.”
“I never want to put any race down or any people down. … I apologize. I didn’t intend any harm or any hatred towards any people.”
DeSean Jackson shares video apologizing after he posted an anti-Semitic message on Instagram pic.twitter.com/b5R2uSdQzk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 7, 2020
Of course, there is a major difference between apologizing and apologizing for how something was taken. There is no word on whether Jackson will receive any sort of disciplinary action from the Eagles.
