DeSean Jackson apologizes after Eagles condemn ‘absolutely appalling’ messages

DeSean Jackson has been promoting anti-Semitic messages through his Instagram account recently, and the Philadelphia Eagles condemned the activity on Tuesday right before Jackson issued an apology.

In a statement released through the team’s official Twitter account, the Eagles said they have spoken with Jackson about the “offensive, harmful, and absolutely appalling” messages he shared. While Jackson insists he did not mean to promote anti-Semitism, the team has spoken with him about the damage the messages caused and the need to apologize for them.

pic.twitter.com/jNk5g99jgK

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 7, 2020

Jackson then issued a statement and video apologizing.

View this post on Instagram

I post a lot of things that are sent to me. I do not have hatred towards anyone. I really didn’t realize what this passage was saying. Hitler has caused terrible pain to 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 and sorry for any hurt I have caused.

A post shared by Desean Jackson (@0ne0fone) on Jul 7, 2020 at 8:50am PDT

Jackson shared a passage on Instagram that included a quote that was incorrectly attributed to Adolf Hitler. The quote accuses Jewish people of blackmailing and extorting America as a plan for world domination. When Jackson was informed that he was promoting anti-Semitism, he doubled down by highlighting a specific portion that he believed proved the point he was trying to make about racism. It did not.

It’s possible — if not likely — that Jackson was truly unaware he was spreading anti-Semitic messages. That is the danger of having a powerful platform and sharing something which you do not fully understand. Hopefully Jackson realizes that now.