Eagles' DeSean Jackson Posts Anti-Semitic Quote on Instagram

Photo Credit - Yahoo Sports

As a Jew myself, reading about the situation with DeSean Jackson is extremely disheartening. Anti-Semitism isn't okay and is never justifiable. Over the past few days, Jackson, a wide-receiver for the Eagles, has been facing tremendous backlash for an extremely anti-Semitic Instagram post over the weekend. He posted a quote that is supposedly attributed to Hitler, although the origin of the quote is heavily debated. From Hitler or not, the content of the passage he shared on Instagram is a serious problem. It was anti-Semitic and extremely repulsive that he would endorse something of this hateful nature. View the screenshot of the post/exact quote here.

After posting this, he received extreme backlash which prompted him to attempt to correct himself. An apology video was posted by Jackson just after the Eagles' issued their statement on Twitter - which is discussed below. Also, in his Instagram story apology, he claimed that people who thought it was hateful towards to Jewish community "misunderstood his intentions". However, he made this statement while still posting an excerpt of the quote. This misguided "apology" is ill-advised and clearly shows he still doesn't see the anti-Semitism that is ingrained in this quote or truly regret what he initially shared. Whether it was intended to hurt or not, it did hurt a lot of people and a lot of sports fans, like myself. Jackson stated that he didn't fully understand the meaning of the post and he "probably shouldn't have posted anything Hitler did".

Someone who was particularly hurt by this was former Eagles president (and proud Jew), Joe Banner. He tweeted this:

Image Courtesy of Joe Banner's Twitter

The Eagles also released a statement.

Image via Eagles' Twitter

No concrete action has been taken by the Eagles yet, but I will provide an update.

There is more to this story. Jackson is known for being a fan of Louis Farrakhan who the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has declared to be anti-Semitic. Farrakhan has called Judaism a "dirty religion" and praises Hitler (via The Score). Jackson posted about Farrakhan over the weekend in addition to posting the anti-Semitic quote.

Piecing all of this together, there has been constant debate on social media about why the Eagles haven't been taking tangible action. There have been numerous Tweets that disregard anti-Semitism and push more hate on the Jewish people surrounding this incident. Seeing this debate and people invalidating the reality of anti-Semitism is wrong. Whether it is in the sports world, or the world in general, hatred toward the Jewish people or anyone is unacceptable. I'm very upset by this situation.

Here are my final thoughts.

I don't believe the apology was sincere especially because it came after the Eagles' statement making it feel forced and not genuine. He just claimed that he didn't really know what the quote meant, and I don't buy it. Also, the media hasn't really covered this issue and it seems as though it was swept under the rug and deemed unimportant. Whether it was quoting Hitler or someone else, saying he didn't mean to be hateful makes no sense. He was sharing something that was bluntly anti-Semitic and clearly didn't see the problem with it until people told him. There have been countless athletes, previous to this situation, that have said racist/hateful things and were blasted by the public and ended their careers - rightfully so. So, why should this instance be treated any differently? It shouldn't. Hate is hate. Hate should never be tolerated. Jackson should face the proper consequences for this blatant anti-Semitism. Bottom line is, anti-Semitism is never okay.

[UPDATE]

Former NBA player, Stephen Jackson, shows support for DeSean Jackson in a video he posted on social media. Stephen Jackson claimed that DeSean Jackson was "speaking the truth" and "trying to educate people". Clearly, this is disgusting and wrong. Stephen then goes on to tweet this.

Image via Stephen Jackson's Twitter

Firstly, Judaism isn't a race. Secondly, how can you claim to love everyone when blatantly endorsing an anti-Semitic quote attributed to Hitler? I'm mortified by this as it's beyond hypocritcal. Thirdly, this isn't the truth - this is hate.

The vast majority of NFL players, teams, and the NFL itself haven't spoken out on this issue yet. It's frustrating that this is going rather ignored throughout the sports world. Heck, I heard about it via a Facebook post from a friend because it isn't being covered in mainstream sports media.

But, on a positive note, DeSean Jackson has pledged to educate himself. He posted the following on Twitter.

Image via DeSean Jackson's Twitter

I'm thrilled to see his willingness to learn and grow. I just hope these words turn into action.

WATCH THIS WHOLE VIDEO

[UPDATE]

Stephen Jackson sadly doubles-down on agreeing with DeSean Jackson's anti-Semitic post. In an Instagram live video, Jackson uttered an anti-Semitic trope. Here is what he said.

"You know that for a fact? You know who the Rothschilds are? They own all the banks. ...I haven't said one thing that's untrue yet."

This statement alludes to the stereotype that Jews run the banks and control money flow. This is clearly very wrong and hurtful. I'm completely dumbfounded that Jackson cannot see how anti-Semitic he is acting.

I'm still hurt that people are shoving this under the rug. I am sad that there are athletes who haven't said anything.

[UPDATE]

Patriots' WR Julian Edelman, a proud Jew, delivers a very powerful message on social media regarding DeSean Jackson. He invites Jackson to go to a Holocaust Museum with him and he will go to an African American history museum so they can both learn from one another. Edelman also opens up about a time he faced anti-Semitism on the football field, and it's absolutely heartbreaking. His message was beautiful in saying that we need to have uncomfortable conversations in order to educate each other.

Other NFL players have now started to share similar remarks.

[UPDATE]

The Eagles have fined DeSean Jackson an undisclosed amount.

Visit the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to learn about ways you can help fight against anti-Semitism.