Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has issued an apology for a series of anti-Semitic social media posts that drew outrage this week, saying he "didn't mean it to the extent that you guys took it."
Jackson on Instagram recently praised Louis Farrakhan, who the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as an "an antisemite who routinely accuses Jews of manipulating the U.S. government and controlling the levers of world power," and posted an anti-Semitic quote that he attributed to Adolf Hitler, The New York Times reports. Hitler is not believed to actually be the source of the quote that Jackson posted, NBC News notes.
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"My post was definitely not intended for anybody of any race to feel any type of way, especially the Jewish community," Jackson said. "When I posted what I posted, I definitely didn't mean it to the extent that you guys took it, and I just want to let you guys know that I'm very apologetic."
Jackson added that he didn't intend to "put any race down or any religion down" but acknowledged he "probably should have never posted anything that Hitler did because Hitler was a bad person, and I know that." The apology itself drew some additional criticism, with The Athletic's Connor Hughes writing, "This is among the worst apologies I’ve ever heard."
The Philadelphia Eagles in a statement on Wednesday condemned Jackson's posts, saying that "regardless of his intentions, the messages he shared were offensive, harmful, and absolutely appalling." The team added that "we are continuing to evaluate the circumstances and will take appropriate action."
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