Cal Football: DeSean Jackson Accepts Invite from Holocaust Survivor to visit Auschwitz

Eagles wide receiver will accompany Edward Mosberg to former Nazi death camp

In his continuing rehabilitation following anti-Semitic messages he posted on social media over the July 4 weekend, DeSean Jackson will get an up-close look at the site of the darkest chapter of the 20th century.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Jackson has accepted an invitation from a 94-year-old Holocaust victim to visit the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland.

Jackson, a former Cal star who plays wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, drew severe criticism from a wide range of sources and was reportedly fined by his team after posting on Instagram offensive messages that included fake quotes from Adolf Hitler.

Jackson, 33, apologized repeatedly but was warned by the Eagles that he would have to back up his words with action.

He met on a Zoom video call last Friday with Edward Mosberg, who survived multiple concentration camps during World War II, including Mauthausen. Mosberg said his late wife was a survivor of Auschwitz, where 1.1 million Jews were killed between 1940 and 1945 in the largest and most infamous of Hitler’s death camps.

Edward Mosberg & DeSean Jackson

Jackson wrote on Instagram that he enjoyed his video chat with Mosberg and is trying to educate himself.

"I grew up in Los Angeles, and never really spent time with anyone from the Jewish community and didn't know much about their history, this has been such a powerful experience for me to learn and educate myself," Jackson said on the call, according to the Jerusalem Post.

"I want to take the proper steps to let people know that I never intentionally had any hatred in my heart, I never wanted to put the Jewish community down, I want to educate myself more and help bridge the gaps between all different cultures.”

Jackson, who played at Cal from 2005 through ’07 and was twice an All-Pac-10 selection, also is making a “significant” donation to aid Jewish community efforts, a source told ESPN’s Tim McManus.

Mosberg initially invited Jackson to join him on a trip to visit Auschwitz in an open letter he published last week.

From The Depths, an organization that supports Holocaust survivors, set up the call between the two men and also is arranging details of the trip with Jackson, multiple media outlets reported. Mosberg is an honorary chairman of the organization.

"We are working with DeSean and his team to set dates for this trip to go ahead and are happy that DeSean agreed," Jonny Daniels, the founder of From The Depths, said in a statement.

The grounds at Auschwitz are now open to the public and feature a memorial and museum.

Travel between the U.S. and Europe is restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic so it’s unclear when Jackson and Mosberg will make their trip. 

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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