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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"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."
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
