Philadelphia Eagles: Julian Edelman offers invitation to DeSean Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson gets an olive branch.

By now, there’s no way you haven’t heard about what happened on Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson‘s Instagram account and what’s happened since. By now, you’ve all developed opinions on him, the Eagles organization, and most importantly, the people that his actions offended.

By now, if you’re over the age of 18, you’ve also already learned that we all do and same some pretty dumb things, and though some of those words and actions are more reprehensible than others, there’s no more lonely place than being the person who’s guilty of hurting someone else.

That doesn’t excuse what Jackson did, but again, though many of us have never said something as offensive (at least not publicly), we’ve all said something that we wish we could take back. All any person wants, when that happens, is for someone to give them some love, a hug, something.

Thank goodness for Julian Edelman. Recently, the New England Patriots star receiver, who just so happens to be of Jewish descent, extended the olive branch to the Eagles star receiver.

If you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan, a Pats fan, or anyone else, we can all learn a lot from Julian Edelman.

The only way to beat hatred is with love. That’s how our great nation will heal. It won’t heal with more hatred. It won’t heal with finger-pointing. Count Mr. Edelman among the people that learned that a long time ago and is sharing that sentiment with others.

Rather than condemn DeSean Jackson, he’s extended his hand in friendship by posting a video on his Instagram account in which he invites Jackson to join him in our nation’s capital for a visit to the Holocaust Museum and he offers to join him for a visit to the museum of African American History and Culture.

Here’s a quote:

"I have seen DeSean play in his career, make outstanding football plays, communicated over social media. I have nothing but respect for his game. I know he said some ugly things, but I do see an opportunity to have a conversation. I am proud of my Jewish heritage. For me, it is not just about religion. It is about community and culture as well. I am unusual because I didn’t identify as Jewish until later in my life. Whenever I encountered hatred, it never really felt like it was aimed at me. It was only after I was part of this community that I learned how destructive hate is. anti-Semitism is one of the oldest forms of hatred. It’s rooted in ignorance and fear."

Here’s the best part of the whole thing.

"I remember experiencing a little bit of this hate in 2011 when I was called a kike on the football field. There is no room for anti-Semitism in this world. Even though we’re talking about anti-Semitism I don’t want to distract from how important the Black Lives Matter movement is and how we need to stay behind it. I think the Black and Jewish communities have a lot of similarities. One, an unfortunate similarity is that they are both attacked by the ignorant and the hateful… We need to learn. And we need to act. We need to have these uncomfortable conversations if we’re going to have real change."

Edelman is right when he says “This world needs a little more love, compassion, and empathy” because it does. Well done Mr. Edelman. Well done. Let’s see if Jackson takes him up on his offer.