DeSean Jackson says a 2014 article portraying him as affiliated with gangs unfairly damaged his reputation and career. Screengrab: 25/10 Show
By Sam Neumann on

Now officially retired from the NFL, DeSean Jackson has formed the 25/10 Show podcast with his former Eagles teammate, LeSean McCoy. And the three-time Pro Bowler who made a name for himself in Philadelphia as a big-play threat and dynamic punt returner has some things to get off his chest.

Jackson and McCoy have already discussed how their former head coach, Chip Kelly, was seemingly uncomfortable around Black players. However, the two offensive playmakers addressed another uncomfortable topic—an NJ.com article about Jackson’s alleged “gang ties” when he left Philadelphia to sign with the Washington Commanders.

A 2014 article by Eliot Shorr-Parks and A.J. Perez suggested the Eagles organization was worried about the people Jackson surrounded himself with. The report indicated the team didn’t want Jackson, a California native who played college football at Cal, to influence their younger players negatively.

Yet the Eagles’ apparent decision to jettison Jackson likely had little to do with his performance on the field or a big-money contract that was slightly squeezing the team’s salary cap.

Rather, sources close to Jackson and within the Eagles’ organization say, it originally was Jackson’s off-field behavior that concerned the front office. A bad attitude, an inconsistent work ethic, missed meetings and a lack of chemistry with head coach Chip Kelly were the original reasons for his fall from grace, sources told NJ.com.
And when the Eagles looked more deeply into why Jackson was missing meetings, they found that his friends were becoming a more powerful — and negative — influence in his life.

Then, suddenly, the Eagles had even more serious concerns when they were revealed by NJ.com — Jackson’s continued association with reputed Los Angeles street gang members who have been connected to two homicides since 2010.

Ever since New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested and charged with first-degree murder last summer, NFL franchises have been reevaluating how closely they needed to watch their players away from the field. And what Eagles executives saw in Jackson, a six-year veteran, was apparently a potential blight on the brand and a bad influence in the locker room.

Before Jackson was released, a source within the Eagles organization, who requested anonymity, put it: “They are concerned about having him around the younger players.”

Jackson released a statement in response to NJ.com’s reporting via ESPN’s Adam Schefter at the time:

But over a decade later, he’s now expressing how the article changed his career trajectory.

“It’s crazy, man, because as I look back at the situation — it’s a heartfelt situation for myself,” said Jackson. “I never really had an opportunity to express this, and the reason that I say that is because, during the time, obviously, I was in the NFL. And even after I got released in 2013, I was picked up within a week. I signed a deal with the Washington Football Team. So, my deal with the Eagles at the time, I had three-years, $30 million left. I signed a five-year, $51 million deal and my first two years was guaranteed — and I got that…I’m saying this to say, I never was really able to express how I feel on this. The reason why is that I was still in the NFL, and I felt like I had to politically be correct, and I didn’t want to say things that hurt my career.

“I’m saying this to say now, in 2024 — 11 years later — I got a call. And it’s crazy because the call was from (Jackson’s agent) Drew Rosenhaus. I got a call in 2013 from Drew, and they were saying some reporter out of New Jersey basically brought this article up, and he wrote this long story. And it was a three page story about basically my upbringing and there was a certain scenario, it was a situation that happened back in 2008 or 2009.

“One of my childhood friends I grew up with went to jail for murder. It was my brother, you know, someone I grew up with; we played ball together as a youth. So, when he actually got convicted for murder, that’s my brother. I’m not finna turn my back on him, like imma help him in any situation. So, I end up getting him a lawyer. And I got him a lawyer, and he beat the case. When he beat the case, I went to go pick him up…We went downtown and picked him up from the county jail. He beat the case. We took a picture, and the picture was me and two of my homies and my boy that beat murder, but he still had his county blues on… So, we took a picture, and the picture was dug up.

“This report was the picture, and they basically talked about all the stuff that was going on… Long story short, they pick up this report and how I’m basically supporting thugs, and I’m supporting murderers. Like, I’m out here gang banging, and the people I choose to hang around is basically like felons, convicted felons — all this type of crazy ****. In this story, it basically talks about how I’m taking pictures with murderers… They start picking at you, and Drew was telling me, ‘They’re releasing you because of this.’ I’m like, ‘So you gonna finna tell me they releasing me just because I picked up my boy who beat murder?’ Like I wasn’t a convicted felon… I have a clean slate on everything I’ve done…They end up releasing me…Do you know what that did to me? It killed (my) endorsements. It had teams sitting there questioning me.”

In response to these accusations, Jackson appeared on SportsCenter for an interview with Stephen A. Smith. Smith questioned him about his supposed gang affiliations. Jackson, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, explained that due to his upbringing, it was inevitable to have been around gang members. He emphasized that he’s a product of his environment, having come of age in a tough neighborhood. Jackson denied the negative portrayal and expressed his confusion about the image being created of him.

“It was like, bro, you really released me off of allegations? That was a coward-a** move that,” he said. “That was really like you were scared of a powerful, young Black man that you couldn’t really relate to, and it was all off a story that was dropped…Imma be real with you, Shady; I couldn’t even look at my own mother in her face during this time. My mother was really in disbelief…For me, it was like I was being crucified for just being how I was…I think that affected me my whole career. It’s always affected me. I’m still trying to put my best foot forward and show these guys I’m not a hoodlum…”

Interestingly, while the podcast episode’s social media teaser targets Shorr-Parks for an apology, Jackson doesn’t blame the article’s authors directly. His main issue appears to be with Chip Kelly, whom he accuses of crafting a false narrative about him to undermine his career. The show’s official Twitter account demands a sincere, public apology for the “incriminating gang ties” article published in 2014.

Jackson spent the rest of his playing career trying to dispel this association, but it seemingly followed him.

[25/10 Show on X]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann