The Philadelphia Eagles have punished DeSean Jackson. They're also keeping him on the team, conditionally.
The club announced Friday it has fined the wide receiver "for conduct detrimental to the team," which included a series of controversial posts on Instagram and sharing an image of a quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler earlier this week. The Eagles' statement noted that Jackson, who has since offered multiple public apologies, "must also commit to supporting his words with actions" in order to remain with the Eagles.
"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," the statement said. "That has led us to the point where we and he are ready to take the next steps."
On his Instagram feed Monday, Jackson posted an image from a book with the passage, "(white) Jews will blackmail America. (They) will extort America, their plan for world domination won't work if the Negroes know who they were." The veteran wide receiver also publicly endorsed a speech from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, in which he alleges that White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and Microsoft founder Bill Gates were hoping to "depopulate the Earth" with a virus vaccine.
The Eagles quickly deemed Jackson's messages "offensive, harmful, and absolutely appalling" while noting they would further evaluate the situation. Jackson subsequently deleted the posts and offered several apologies. The club said it has since come up with "a concrete plan" for how to move forward with Jackson but didn't specify what he must do to stay on the team.
He shared a screenshot of a video meeting he had Friday with 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg, who'd written a letter to Jackson decrying his initial Instagram posts.
"Thank you Mr. Mosberg for your valuable time and insight today," the caption to Jackson's latest post read. "I'm taking this time to continue with educating myself and bridging the gap between different cultures, communities & religions. LOVE 2 ALL!!!!! TO BE CONTINUED ....."
The 33-year-old wideout missed all but three games last season because of injury after signing a three-year, $27 million contract to return to Philly in 2019.
