Zach Banner Calls on NFLPA, Players Regarding DeSean Jackson Story
Zach Banner returned to social media on Thursday to continue pushing his message towards recognizing the Jewish community.
The Steelers tackle made a strong statement explaining how his eyes were opened to the Jewish community. Following the news of DeSean Jackson's anti-semitic Instagram post, Banner made an original video telling his story.
"There's a common misbelief amongst black and brown people, and I know this from growing up, and I've heard it, and I've listened to it. That Jewish people are just like any other white race," Banner said in a video Wednesday. "You mix them up with the rest of the majority, and you don't understand that they're a minority as well."
Banner posted again in a social media video, calling out the NFLPA and players for their handling of the situation.
"Hopefully this is the last video that I need to be able to prove a point," Banner said. "I'm not going to lie, the lack of empathy from my brothers and the NFLPA towards the DeSean Jackson situation is weak at heart, and our Jewish friends and fans - most importantly fans and the Jewish community. It's bull crap. It's horrendous.
"We can't preach what we've been preaching about Black Lives Matter and elevating ourselves. Once again, we can't elevate ourselves by stepping on another person's back to get there. We need to elevate ourselves for equality."
Banner points out that it's not a time for players to stay silent when another makes a mistake regarding equality.
"When one of us does something dumb and makes a mistake like that, we need to hold each other accountable," he said. "Not only via text and not only ourselves, but publicly, because the Jewish community right now is pissed."
The NFL released the following statement on Jackson's posts:
"DeSean's comments were highly inappropriate, offensive and divisive and stand in stark contrast to the NFL's values of respect, equality and inclusion. We have been in contact with the team which is addressing the matter with DeSean."
Banner finished by thanking the fans and the Jewish community for their donations to his foundation, the B3 Foundation. The foundation helps kids both athletically and academically in Tacoma, Washington, Los Angeles, California, and Guam.
Noah Strackbein is a Senior Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
