Stephen Jackson Erupts Into Anti-Semitic Rant

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson drew attention on Tuesday when he posted a quote he attributed to Adolf Hitler. He later apologized multiple times while simultaneously receiving support from Stephen Jackson. The former NBA player posted a video showing support for Jackson and then took part in a fiery back-and-forth on social media in which he made anti-Semitic comments.

Stephen took part in a lengthy Instagram Live video on Wednesday with a user named @kosherwhitewine. This individual asked the former NBA player to acknowledge that Jews aren’t trying to divide the Black community, to which Stephen responded, “You know that for a fact?” He continued and asked @kosherwhitewine if he knows who the Rothschilds are. “They control all the banks. They own all the banks,” he said.

The immensely-wealthy Jewish Rothschilds family has been the source of many conspiracy theories, including in 1940. Nazi Germany’s minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels made The Rothschilds, focusing on Nathan Rothschild, the founder of the London branch of the family’s bank. According to the propaganda film, Nathan spread false rumors that Napoleon has defeated Wellington and then purchased assets at “bargain basement prices” amid the London stock market crashing.

In the years since, the statement about the “Rothschilds controlling the banks” has been a common anti-Semitic trope. Jackson repeated the comment on Wednesday during his Instagram Live session. He also said that “it’s not a myth when saying Jews run everything.”

The former NBA player previously posted a video on Instagram defending Jackson. He said that the Eagles receiver was “speaking the truth.” He also drew comparisons between how the team reacted when former wide receiver Riley Cooper publicly said the N-word at a Kenny Chesney concert and how it responded to Jackson’s posts on social media.

“So I just read a statement that the Philadelphia Eagles posted regarding DeSean Jackson’s comments,” Stephen said in a now-deleted Instagram video. “He was trying to educate himself, educate people, and he’s speaking the truth. Right? He’s speaking the truth. You know he don’t hate nobody, but he’s speaking the truth of the facts that he knows and trying to educate others.”

“But y’all don’t want us to educate ourselves. If it’s talking about the Black race, y’all ain’t saying nothing about it. They killing us, police killing us and treating us like s—, racism at an all-time high, but ain’t none of you NFL owners spoke up on that, ain’t none of you teams spoke up on that. But the same team had a receiver [Riley Cooper] who said the word n— publicly! They gave him an extension! I play for the Big3. We have a Jewish owner. He understands where we stand and some of the things we say, but it’s not directed to him. It’s the way we’ve been treated.”

Jackson became a voice for social injustice following the murder of his friend George Floyd, who died while in the custody of a Minnesota police officer in May. The two “twins” became close friends after initially meeting in Texas. When Floyd died, Jackson headed to Minneapolis and led several protests. He became known as an activist but created criticism with his comments during Wednesday’s Instagram Live.