#Malcolm Jenkins: DeSean Jackson Hitler-post fallout is ‘a distraction’

Ex-Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins addressed former teammate DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic posts in an Instagram video Friday, calling the aftermath a “distraction.”

“We gotta stay focused,” Jenkins said in the video. “All of this back and forth that’s going on right now is a distraction. Comments were made, and they were wrong. Allow those who were impacted by it to voice their grievances.

“But we’ve got to stay focused. Because Breonna Taylor’s killers are still not arrested. We’re still fighting for justice. We’ve got a lot of work to do. And this ain’t it. Stay focused.”

Recently, Jenkins notably criticized new-teammate Drew Brees for his comments towards kneeling during the national anthem. In the emotional video, Jenkins stressed the need for solidarity among all players in the fight for social justice.

“You’re someone that doesn’t understand their privilege,” Jenkins said in the video. “You don’t understand the potential that you have to actually be an advocate for the people you call brothers … If you don’t understand that other people experience something totally different than you, then when you talk about the brotherhood, and all this other bulls–t, it’s just lip-service.”

In his response to Jackson’s anti-Semitic posts, however, Jenkins, a CNN contributor, sang a different tune.

“We can honor the Jewish heritage and trauma while staying focused on what matters. Jewish people aren’t our problem, and we aren’t their problem. Let’s not lose focus on what the problem truly is, and that’s that Black lives still don’t matter in this country.”

In Jackson’s post, he posted a picture of a quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler, including rhetoric accusing Jews of blackmailing and extorting America and a line that said “Hitler was right.” It came just days after Jackson promoted a speech by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who is notorious for making anti-Semitic remarks and “routinely accuses Jews of manipulating the U.S. government and controlling the levers of world power,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Jackson has publicly apologized multiple times and met with a group against anti-Semitism, according to ESPN. The Eagles have released one statement, saying they take the matter seriously.