DeSean Jackson faces media for first time since sharing fake Hitler quote
DeSean Jackson issued multiple apologies after sharing a fake Hitler quote on Instagram in July.
On Wednesday, he faced live questioning the first time since the uproar threatened his career.
Jackson remains a member of the Philadelphia Eagles after seeking to make amends for the post that Jewish team owner Jeffrey Lurie called “disgusting and appalling.” On Wednesday, he addressed local media as a member of the team days before their season opener against the Washington Football Team.
‘Using the time to educate myself’
“I’ve been just using the time to educate myself and really just man up to the actions I took and just educate and learn from it,” Jackson told reporters, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Over the past few months I kind of had to reflect on just life. ...
“You know, people make mistakes in life, and it was a mistake I made, and I had to own up to it as a man, which I did. But I think I’m taking the proper steps to educate and learn from something I didn’t really know very much about.”
What Jackson shared
The post shared by Jackson on July 6 cited a quote that he believed to be from Adolf Hitler that referred to Black people as “the real children of Israel” and allegedly cited Hitler’s plan to incite World War III from his grave. Snopes uncovered the passage as part of a clickbait campaign from 2017. Hitler did not say it.
After apologizing, Jackson met with a Holocaust survivor in an effort to educate himself and salvage his image. He has also vowed to visit a concentration camp site in Poland and made plans to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. with New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman
Jackson looked to cut off questioning
According to NBCSP, Jackson attempted to cut off questioning about the incident after a couple of questions on Wednesday, vowing to address only football or his involvement in efforts to empower the Black community.
He said he would be more careful about social media and reiterated that he had learned from the incident when pressed further on the issue.
“Once again, it’s a situation I’ve learned from, I’m not going to sit here and make this the topic of discussion, because I owned up to it, and I said my apology and took the proper steps to enlighten myself and learn from it,” Jackson said.
Jackson is listed as a starter at wide receiver on the Eagles depth chart as they prepare for their season opener on Sunday.
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