DeSean Jackson, a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, said in an Instagram story that he doesn’t hold any hate toward the Jewish community after sharing a disputed quote from Adolf Hitler.
The Stop Anti-Semitism.org watchdog tweeted out a screenshot from Jackson’s July 5 Instagram story where Jackson highlighted a Hitler quote from a book titled, “The Hidden Treasure That Lies in Plain Sight 4: The Day of the Lord and the End of America.”
“The white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americans secret, the Jews will blackmail America,” the highlighted section reads. “[They] will extort America, their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.”
Hey @jeff_lurie and @HowieRoseman – you guys cool with your wide receiver (Desean Jackson) quoting Hitler and proclaiming he was right? pic.twitter.com/ufCvDG3VaO
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 6, 2020
Jackson addressed the matter in a July 6 Instagram story, stating, “Anyone who feels I have hate towards the Jewish community took my post the wrong way. I have no hatred in my heart towards no one!!” He then re-shared the “extort America” passage of the disputed Hitler quote.
On his IG stories … they only@lat@for 24 hours. Here are some snapshots pic.twitter.com/TDnqeF0W2h
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 6, 2020
USA Today reported that according to Snopes.com, the Hitler quote Jackson cited is fake, as it stemmed from “a disreputable website, and which appears to loosely string together an entire ecosystem of impossibly farfetched and completely unsourced conspiracy theories.”
Jackson also praised Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Farrakhan on Instagram as “powerful” in a since-deleted Instagram post.
DeSean Jackson has been promoting anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan on his Instagram page.
He hasen't trended for even second today.
Wtf @Eagles @nflcommish @NFL pic.twitter.com/HMw4tzRhj1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 7, 2020
Jewish groups condemned Jackson’s posts.
“Deeply troubling to see @DeSeanJackson10 promoting the message of notorious anti-Semite and NOI leader Louis Farrakhan,” Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Philadelphia tweeted. “We have reached out to the @Eagles about this and call on Jackson to immediately apologize.”
Deeply troubling to see @DeSeanJackson10 promoting the message of notorious antisemite and NOI leader Louis Farrakhan. We have reached out to the @Eagles about this and call on Jackson to immediately apologize. https://t.co/QEoP847BtG
— ADL Philadelphia (@ADLPhiladelphia) July 7, 2020
We urge Mr. Jackson to use his platform as a professional athlete to promote unity and positivity, rather than the divisive words of a bigot. Learn more about Farrakhan's disturbing history of hate and antisemitism. https://t.co/jhybbMgNok
— ADL Philadelphia (@ADLPhiladelphia) July 7, 2020
The American Jewish Committee similarly tweeted, “We are horrified to witness outrageous anti-Semitic conspiracy theories shared on @DeSeanJackson10’s Instagram account. Where is the response from @Eagles and @NFL?”
We are horrified to witness outrageous antisemitic conspiracy theories shared on @DeSeanJackson10’s Instagram account.
Where is the response from @Eagles and @NFL?
Jackson should apologize immediately for his hateful and deeply offensive comments.https://t.co/z8C44gSrC8
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 7, 2020
Liora Rez, director of Stop Anti-Semitism.org, said in a statement to the Journal, “DeSean Jackson just normalized and gave the green light of Jew hatred to his 1.4 million followers on Instagram, many of them young and impressionable. We are horrified he would share such a thing and demand action by his employer, the Philadelphia Eagles!”
The Philadelphia Eagles condemned Jackson’s posts in a July 7 statement. “The messages he shared were offensive, harmful and absolutely appalling,” the statement read. “They have no place in our society, and are not condoned or supported in any way by the organization.”
The football team added that it is “continuing to evaluate the circumstances and will take appropriate action.”
Eagles’ statement on DeSean Jackson: pic.twitter.com/IPDUYpTRTJ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 7, 2020
Jackson posted an apology on July 7 stating, “I didn’t really didn’t realize what this passage was saying. Hitler has cause terrible pain to the 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.”
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCWKmvjFTAG/?igshid=108hyo52opxf4
