I do believe that DeSean Jackson’s social media posts came from a place of ignorance and not a place of hate.
And that is important to remember.
But it doesn’t excuse what he did.
I’ve been to Auschwitz and Dachau, two of Hitler’s most notorious concentration camps. I’ve seen the horror that Hitler brought to the world. I’ve seen the shoes worn by thousands of the 7 million men, women and children murdered by the Nazis just for being Jewish. And I understand DeSean hasn’t experienced that.
But that’s no excuse.
There is no excuse for anybody to post comments so filled with hate toward any group of people.
There is no excuse for quoting comments attributed to Hitler.
We’re living in an age where we’re all trying to understand each other just a little bit more and understand our differences and break down the walls of bigotry and hatred.
And there’s simply no place on a football team for this kind of voice.
And I’ll be honest, DeSean’s “apology” showed a profound lack of understanding for why people are offended. It wasn’t an apology at all.
Desean Jackson posted an apology on his Instagram for his posts quoting Hitler
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 7, 2020
“I want to extend an apology. What I posted, I didn’t mean it. I am very apologetic. It was never intended to put down any race or religion”
🎥 @DeSeanJackson10 pic.twitter.com/uTnKiyVyhc
“My thoughts were definitely not intended for anybody for any race to feel any type of way.”
OK … then explain exactly how they were intended? What were you trying to get across? Why did you post them?
“When I posted what I posted I definitely didn’t mean it to the extent that you guys took it.”
Think about that for a second. The extent that you guys took it? Just exactly what extent were you hoping to offend people, DeSean? He’s essentially saying we’re all over-reacting to him posting social media messages quoting Hitler and avowed anti-semite and homophobe Louis Farrakhan? He’s saying we somehow misunderstood?
I don’t see a shred of genuine remorse in this “apology” and I don’t see any sign that he even remotely understands why he offended so many people in the first place or why his own boss called his actions “absolutely appalling.”
This is a half-hearted apology issued to appease his bosses in hopes that he won’t get suspended or cut. It comes across as an apology made because he was told to apologize.
About a month ago, DeSean spoke in an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark about how proud he was of Carson Wentz and Zach Ertz for speaking out against racism and social injustice.
He spoke about how important it was for them to speak out even though they didn’t grow up in the inner city and don’t know what it’s like to be racially profiled.
DeSean needs to have that same sense of understanding of other cultures and other religions and other people that he saw in his teammates.
I’ve always loved watching DeSean play football, and I loved when the Eagles brought him back last year to finish his career where it started.
But now? It’s clear the Eagles have to take some sort of strong action.
Does that mean a one-game suspension? A four-game suspension? Does that mean cut him and never let him back in the Linc and ban him from the Eagles Hall of Fame?
Honestly, I don’t know.
But he simply can’t be allowed to put on an Eagles uniform again until he displays a true understanding of why his posts were so incredibly hateful and harmful. Not just to Jews but to all human beings who believe in equality, inclusion and diversity.
I don’t know if that will ever happen. I hope it does.
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