Stephen Jackson defends DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic posts

Former NBA player Stephen Jackson defended DeSean Jackson’s recent anti-Semitic posts Wednesday, saying the NFL player was “speaking the truth.”

In a now deleted Instagram video, Jackson said:

“So I just read a statement that the Philadelphia Eagles posted regarding DeSean Jackson’s comments. He was trying to educate himself, educate people, and he’s speaking the truth. Right? He’s speaking the truth. You know he don’t hate nobody, but he’s speaking the truth of the facts that he knows and trying to educate others,”

“But y’all don’t want us to educate ourselves. If it’s talking about the Black race, y’all ain’t saying nothing about it. They killing us, police killing us and treating us like s—, racism at an all-time high, but ain’t none of you NFL owners spoke up on that, ain’t none of you teams spoke up on that. But the same team had a receiver [Riley Cooper] who said the word n—– publicly! They gave him an extension! I play for the Big3. We have a Jewish owner. He understands where we stand and some of the things we say, but it’s not directed to him. It’s the way we’ve been treated.”

Jackson is referencing DeSean Jackson’s recent IG story in which he highlighted a quote he attributed to Hitler that said white Jews “will blackmail America. [They] will extort America, their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.”

DeSean later apologized on Instagram and after meeting with team owner Jeffery Lurie, who is Jewish, claims to be committed to equating himself and working with the Jewish community.

Stephen Jackson’s defense fanned the flames of a controversy that could have been in the rear view mirror. Jackson’s comments are particularly alarming given his role on the front lines in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. One of Floyd’s best friends, Jackson has recently gained prominence as an activist and seeker of the justice in the Black Lives Matter movement.