DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles found himself at the center of a controversy last week when he posted a fake quote from Adolf Hitler which spoke about the economic empowerment of Jewish people. Jackson is adamant that he meant to say that black people should be doing the same thing, however, whenever you mention Hitler, you're pretty well in the wrong. The wide receiver eventually apologized for the post and was fined by the Eagles.
Over the weekend, Jackson spoke with Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg during a Zoom call. During their talk, Mosberg invited Jackson to visit Auschwitz which was the site of one of the most infamous concentration camps from that time. Jackson has accepted the invitation and even spoke about how sorry he is for what happened.
“I grew up in Los Angeles, and never really spent time with anyone from the Jewish community and didn’t know much about their history,” Jackson said during the call. “This has been such a powerful experience for me to learn and educate myself. [...] “I want to take the proper steps to let people know that I never intentionally had any hatred in my heart, I never wanted to put the Jewish community down, I want to educate myself more and help bridge the gaps between all different cultures."
While Jackson was certainly in the wrong, it's dope to see him learn from his mistakes and have a dialog with a real survivor. These kinds of conversations can only help us grow.
[Via]