Delaware State University states that it aims to “cultivate an environment that promotes inclusiveness and collaboration among students, faculty, administration and staff.”
But the public university also announced late last year that it had hired former Philadelphia Eagles professional football player DeSean Jackson, who has a history of antisemitism, as head coach of its football program.
The three-time NFL all-pro player wrote in 2020 that black people are “the real Children of Israel” and quoted from a statement attributed to Adolf Hitler. He also wrote that Jews plan to “extort America” and achieve “world domination.”
He apologized after a swift backlash to his Jew-hatred.
“I really didn’t realize what this passage was saying,” he stated, per CNN. “Hitler has caused terrible pain to Jewish people like the pain African-Americans have suffered. We should be together fighting antisemitism and racism. This was a mistake to post this, and I truly apologize for posting it and sorry for any hurt I have caused.”
The NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles condemned his statements at the time. Delaware State has yet to comment publicly on or acknowledge Jackson’s history of Jew-hatred. (JNS sought comment from the public school.)
“DeSean Jackson is a perfect fit for our institution—incredibly competitive, optimistic about the prospects for our collective future, and focused on the fundamentals of the institution: students first,” Tony Tucker, the school’s athletics director and senior associate vice president for athletics and wellness, stated on Jan. 9.
After JNS published, Tucker told JNS that “Coach Jackson publicly apologized for his comments in 2020, recognized they caused pain and acknowledged clearly that he had made a mistake.”
“Knowing Coach Jackson the way we do, we know the comments were not reflective of his values and that he has learned from that experience,” he added. “We’re confident he will be a successful leader of our program at DSU.”
