DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson has been one of the most exciting players in football over the last decade plus. One of the fastest players in the NFL, he led the league in receiving yards per reception four times in his 12-year career. He also has 5 1,000-yard seasons and 3 Pro-Bowl appearances. In addition, Jackson throwing an interception helped me win a fantasy football championship. (Now that Andy Reid won a Super Bowl with Kansas City, people think he's a genius, but I'll always remember Reid having his wide receiver throw the ball on 3rd and goal on a Monday night game.) Plus, DeSean Jackson is part of one of my favorite movie quotes from the last decade from the movie Silver Linings Playbook:



I remember there being two words between the and man with the first word being mother and the second not being appropriate for children. Maybe the NSFW video isn't on YouTube. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong.

Anyway, I'm getting way off topic. Last week, DeSean Jackson shared two (now deleted) disturbing, anti-Semitic posts on Instagram. Jackson apologized for these posts, likely because he rightfully got called out by many people including his employer, the Philadelphia Eagles. Personally, I found the apology to be fairly weak and likely done because the Eagles, his agent, and/or others close to him told him that this needed to happen. On Friday, the Eagles fined Jackson and provided this statement:

"This has been a difficult and emotional week for our community and organization," the team said in the statement. "The Philadelphia Eagles do not tolerate hate towards any individual or group. We believe in respect and equality for all races, ethnicities, and faiths. We as an organization want to help be an instrument for positive change. This can only occur through strong, deliberate actions and a commitment to learn and grow. 

"We have had a number of constructive conversations over the last few days, not only with DeSean Jackson, but also with many other players, members of the organization, and leaders in the community. That has led us to the point where we and he are ready to take the next steps."

"Today we have penalized DeSean for conduct detrimental to the team," the statement read. "He accepted these consequences and apologized. In our many conversations with him, it has also been made clear that this is only the beginning. We have discussed a concrete plan for how we and he can heal moving forward. He understands that in order to remain on the team, he must also commit to supporting his words with actions. We have been encouraged by his desire to educate himself, but we all understand that there is still a lot of work to be done. We will continue to assist DeSean in this process, and we also know that all of us in our organization need to listen and learn more about things that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable to us.

"We must continue to fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, while not losing sight of the important battle against systemic racism."

Obviously, what Jackson posted was wrong. My question is whether a fine is necessary. How does Jackson grow and learn from being fined? Wouldn't the fine cause him to be more resentful? Now, should he lose sponsorships? Yes. Companies don't want someone paraphrasing Hitler pitching their products. Taking Jackson off of the team's 2021 calendar or removing his jersey from the online team store? Absolutely. But a fine? It seems to me that Jackson needs education, not a fine. Fortunately, education is happening. Jackson spoke with Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg who invited him to visit Auschwitz.

Apparently, Jackson also spoke with New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman, who offered to take him to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC. I hope he also talks with NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen who is (or at least was) on the US Holocaust Memorial Council.

I do want to end on a positive here. I've seen several NFL players speak out last week, including this video by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Zach Banner. I already liked him because of his personality and because he plays for the Steelers but now he's one of my all-time favorite players.

Dear Philadelphia Flyers Fans,

Enjoy chanting "Crosby sucks" while mowing the lawn, hitting golf balls or on your way to work on Monday since you’re not going to have the chance to do so at the Wachovia Center again during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. However, you may have a good point. Perhaps Sidney Crosby does suck. I mean he only had two goals on Saturday and a total of 4 goals and 4 assists in the series. Of course, those eight points would be three more than any other Flyer (Mike Richards and Claude Giroux led the team with 5 points) in the six-game series. Actually, I’ll let Crosby, the recipient of all of the taunting, speak for himself:

"We've had huge rivalries over the years. It's a loud building. They were playing well and the crowd was into to it, so to hear a little silence was gratifying."

So what’s the excuse as to why the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Flyers this season? Simon Gagne, Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn were injured during last year’s playoff series, but they looked healthy the last few weeks. In addition, the Penguins took 2 of 3 games in your home arena. I remember when the Penguins went years without defeating Philadelphia at the Spectrum. Are you going to blame Biron or will you actually concede that the Penguins are better than the Flyers?

On a positive note, enjoy the LeSean McCoy era with the Eagles. I’m being completely serious with this statement. I really enjoyed watching McCoy at Pitt, and I hope that he does well in Philadelphia.


For the Penguins fans reading this, make sure to visit Empty Netters and The Pensblog for more coverage of the Penguins first round victory.

What NFL Team Does Sarah Palin Support

I have a problem with Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and it has nothing to do with her political views.* Perhaps you saw the three second clip of Palin jogging in a Donovan McNabb Philadelphia Eagles jersey. (If not, the video is below at the 3:11 mark and a picture is on the right.) First of all, besides actual football players, who actually jogs wearing a football jersey? Wouldn’t a T-shirt or Under Armor shirt be more comfortable?

Let’s assume that because Pain is wearing a McNabb jersey in the video, she has some type of affinity for the Eagles. Does she only support the Eagles? Well, when I wrote last month that Joe Biden is a Steelers fan, Captain Easychord shared a July 2007 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article which showed that Palin is also a Steelers fan. So is she a Steelers fan, an Eagles fan, or both? This is where things get even more complex. Sarah Palin is also a member of the official Seattle Seahawks official fan club, the Seahawkers.** Super Bowl XL must have been tough for her since two of her favorite teams were playing against each other.

So my question is this: what football team does Sarah Palin support? Get Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric on this immediately. I think this should be part of Thursday’s Vice Presidential debate. Palin must come clean on her favorite NFL team. Having two or three favorite teams is unacceptable and certainly not something I or most if not all Americans want to see in a potential President or Vice President.



The picture and video are courtesy of CBS via The 700 Level.


* Well, actually I do have a problem with some of her political views, but that is not the point of this post. By the way, I like having footnotes at the bottom of my posts. I can see why lacochran does this so often!

** What a terrible name!


Update: After I wrote all of this, I found that Modern Jackass Magasin wrote something similar about Palin’s fandom. This just confirms the need for Governor Palin to show her true colors (black and gold; blue/navy, green and white; green and white; or possibly even something else)!

Soccer Mom Targeted for Carrying Gun to Game

The following story is from Philly.com:

LEBANON - A south central Pennsylvania woman's concealed-weapons permit has been revoked after other parents complained about seeing her carrying her loaded handgun at her daughter's soccer game.

Meleanie Hain says she's fighting the revocation by the Lebanon County sheriff.

Hain told the Lebanon Daily News she's always openly carried a firearm without any problems in the past. She received the revocation notice and a warning from local soccer officials after the Sept. 11 game.

Soccer coach Charlie Jones says parents were upset by Hain carrying her gun at the game.

Sheriff Michael DeLeo says openly carrying a weapon to a youth soccer match shows a lack of judgment. DeLeo says he'll restore her permit if a court decides he was wrong.

Hain is probably an Eagles fan too.

As a soccer referee, this freaks me out. Who is the first person players, coaches and parents get angry at during soccer games? It’s not the ice cream truck guy! Fortunately, I referee in Virginia which does not allow concealed weapons. Well, maybe not!

h/t Hugging Harold Reynolds