An overwhelming amount of pro athletes, current and former, have voiced support for black Americans in recent days. But what about Jewish Americans? That topic ran wild on social media this week after Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson shared some anti-Semitic posts.
Jackson posted a passage from a book containing a quote, he incorrectly attributed to Adolf Hitler, that reads “the white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel,” that Jews “will extort America” and that “their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.” He also praised Louis Farrakhan, calling the Nation of Islam leader “powerful.” Jackson deleted that post.
Other athletes took to Twitter to talk about Jackson’s comments. Former Philadelphia Phillies Lenny Dykstra and Curt Schilling did not let the Eagles star off the hook. Dykstra got the ball rolling by tweeting directly to Jackson: “And yes I know all about another Hungarian Jewish boy who was first known as “György”!” Dykstra included a reweet from the official Auschwitz Memorial Twitter account remembering a little Hungarian Jewish boy György Engel who was murdered in a gas chamber in 1944.
The tweet caught Schilling’s attention. The two-time World Series champion weighed in with: “The second you detect a hint of holocaust denial just end the talk, block, and move on. The level of wilful ignorance to not just THINK it, but to actually say it OUT LOUD is pathetic and embarrassing. Members of Easy Co. 506th PIR 101st know what they saw, and I got to hear it.”
Enter Larry Johnson. The former Kansas City Chiefs running back replied to Schilling’s words with: “Blah blah blah whine whine whine.” That was Johnson’s take on Schilling calling out holocaust deniers. That’s what he had to offer.
If you think Johnson isn’t getting the message, a former NBA player took things to another level. While Schilling and Dykstra stood up for Jews and DeSean Jackson offered an apology for his posts, Stephen Jackson ramped up the anti-Semitic rhetoric on Wednesday. While continuing to defend DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson wrote this to an Instagram Live user: “The Jews are the richest. You know who the Rothschilds are? … They control all the banks. They own all the banks.”
Jackson went on to say he didn’t think Jews were trying to divide black Americans, “but I don’t think they stand up for us as much as they should.”
One day earlier Jackson wrote, “Your races pain doesn’t hurt more than the next races pain. Don’t act like your hardships [are] more devastating then ours. … Truth Hurts. Never waste time explaining to people who never supported u anyway.”
Stephen Jackson was lauded by many for taking a leadership role during the recent Black Lives Matter protests and riots. All of that is now taking a backseat to his outrageous comments regarding Jewish people.
As for DeSean Jackson, the Eagles issued a statement saying the wide out’s words were “offensive, harmful, and absolutely appalling.” The team, which has a Jewish owner and general manager, added that they are “continuing to evaluate the circumstances and will take appropriate action.”
We already know what speaking up for the national anthem and wearing an OAN shirt costs in the world of sports. Now, since the Eagles have given Jackson a mere slap on the wrist for posting these hateful remarks, we see that wearing the shirt of a conservative network is a much greater offense to our sports elites than the spreading of hate.
Follow Kevin Scholla on Twitter @kevinscholla
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.