Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

‘Let’s grab some burgers;’ Jewish NFL player invites DeSean Jackson to talk

After a football player shared anti-Semitic quotes on Instagram, his Jewish colleague invited him to visit a Holocaust museum, “grab some burgers, and have those uncomfortable conversations.”

In a video posted to Twitter on Thursday morning, Julian Edelman, a wide receiver for the New England Patriots, addressed Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who on Monday posted quotes to social media accusing Jews of planning to “blackmail” and “extort” America.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for [Jackson’s] game,” said Edelman, who wore a Star of David pendant while addressing the camera. “I know he said some ugly things but I do see an opportunity to have a conversation.”

He suggested that he and Jackson spend an afternoon educating themselves by visiting two Washington, D.C. museums that reflect their respective backgrounds: the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“We need to have those uncomfortable conversations if we’re going to change,” he said.

The quote Jackson shared, which was attributed to Adolf Hitler but deemed inauthentic by fact-checking website Snopes, said that “because the white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americas secret the Jews will blackmail America.” Jackson later apologized on Instagram, promising to “consider my words and actions moving forward.”

While Edelman was raised in a Christian household, he began to identify as Jewish as an adult after learning more about his great-grandfather’s Ashkenazi heritage. After the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, he wore cleats with Hebrew writing to memorialize the victims, and he told Los Angeles Magazine that he speaks regularly to a rabbi and plans to have a bar mitzvah.

In the video, he spoke about becoming more aware of anti-Semtism as he embraced his Jewish heritage, revealing that he’s been called a “kike” on the football field. He also expressed support for broader anti-racist causes. “Even though we’re talking about anti-Semitism, I don’t want to distract from how important the Black Lives Matter movement is,” he said.

Non-Jewish football players have also spoken out about the incident. On Twitter, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner addressed the “mindset” that sparked Jackson’s post, urging fans not to “leave another minority race in the dark” and choking up when he recalled the synagogue shooting that took place in his home city.

“Change your heart, put your arm around people, and let’s all uplift each other,” he said.

Irene Katz Connelly is an editorial fellow at the Forward. You can contact her at [email protected].

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.