Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson says he has “no hatred in my heart toward no one” after twice posting a quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler that says white Jews “will blackmail America. [They] will extort America, their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.”
The quote is based on a disproven story that Hitler wanted to start a world war to stop Jews in America from oppressing black people.
Jackson also praised the teachings of Louis Farrakhan, who has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an antisemite.
“Anyone who feels I have hate towards the Jewish community took my post the wrong way,” Jackson posted on Instagram story, before highlighting the passage attributed to Hitler again. “I have no hatred in my heart toward no one!! Equality. Equality.”
Jackson did not explain why circulating a baseless conspiracy theory that Jewish people secretly control the world is not antisemitic.
The Eagles released a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, saying they will “take appropriate action”.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 7, 2020
“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 staff in order to educate, learn, and grow,” read the statement.
Jackson later posted a video to Instagram with another apology.
“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,” he wrote under the video. “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.”
The 33-year-old Jackson is in his second stint with the Eagles. The team’s owner, Jeffrey Lurie, is Jewish.
