Book rips DeSean Jackson, labels him a 'jerk'
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Book rips DeSean Jackson, labels him a 'jerk'
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
A recently-released book slams Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson and ranks him No. 86 among all-time jerks in sports.
Michael Freeman, CBSSports.com columnist and author of The All-Time Biggest Sports Jerks: And Other Goofballs, Cads, Miscreants, Reprobates, and Weirdos (Plus a Few Good Guys), rips Jackson for letting go of the ball before crossing the goal line in a game which we all remember last year against the Cowboys.
Writes Freeman:
Sadly, Jackson is likely a lost cause. He clearly doesn't listen to anyone and could give a damn about how he's viewed, which are two dangerous aspects of his personality. He's practically destined to jackass himself out of football (yeah, the Jerk Council used jackass that way). Then he'll look back and wonder what the hell happened.
According to amazon.com, the book was released in late May so maybe this is old news. But we don't remember hearing much about it until about a few hours ago. If you click on the link above and are a customer, you can read the chapter on Jackson online.
Freeman, who is African-American, said Jackson degrades himself by his actions:
There's no difference between Jackson's actions -- and the cadre of fools like [Terrell] Owens and his ilk -- and those African Americans who once debased and degraded themselves because that's what they believed whites wanted to see.
Rich Quinones of 1290 The Ticket in Delaware had Freeman on to discuss the book and his chapter on Jackson. He said he stood by what he wrote, but he didn't really slam Jackson on the air as he did in the book.
"Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he's not a lost cause but I think he had done that in college [celebrated before crossing the goal line] so I think that's why I wrote that he's a lost cause," Freeman said. "He's young so he could easily prove me wrong but he doesn't seem interested in proving me wrong. He seems interested in doing that kind of stuff so that's what makes me a little worried about him."
My problem here is that Freeman used Jackson as an example about what he described as a larger issue. That doesn't really seem fair, considering there was no indication in the book or radio interview that Freeman had ever even talked to Jackson.
Back in June, I linked to a video with Jackson in which he discussed the death of his father, Bill, in the offseason. Click on the link, and tell me if that sounds like the same guy Freeman is describing. There are only 85 people in the history of sports that are bigger jerks than him? Because he celebrated early before crossing the end zone?
I'm not buying it.
Maybe I'm wrong, but Jackson seems to be generally liked by teammates, coaches, the media, and well, pretty much everyone here who watched him last season. Just earlier this week, Rich Hofmann of the Daily News wrote about Jackson's intelligence and how his hard work off the field and in the film room enabled him to have such a stellar rookie season.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and Freeman has a strong one, but I think he's off-base with his assessment of Jackson here.
Thanks to the folks at 1290 for the heads-up on the book and the interview.
Update: Just figured out that much of what Freeman wrote about Jackson in the book was originally published in an online column last season.
What a joke...comparing him to TO? Most receivers have egos. That doesn't mean he is a jerk. As far as TO's antics, demanding the ball a side, I thought they were funny. Pom poms, sharpie, eagle flapping were all funny. The only one that was pushed to far was standing on the Cowboys star.— phigglesfan75
Comment removed.- this is garbage— GillyKingofPhilly17
- Anyone familiar with Freeman's work at CBSSports.com knows that to call him a journalist is a stretch; he's pure sensationalism. A book like this, as well "researched" as I'm sure it is, is no surprise. His work essentially consists of a few unremarkable observations about sports and a few obnoxious moralistic rants that range from paranoid to unforgivably stupid.— Coniglio101
- The day we drafted him I had two former Cal students over at my place watching with me. They DEFINITELY had issues with him. They appreciated his skill, but apparently he was extremely divisive in the locker room and caused an implosion his last year there similar to what T.O. did to us. I hope his time with Jerry Rice, and some growth on his part, has helped him grow as a person.— VicFromLA
- Freeman is one the 86 biggest idiots in sports journalism. DJ was a rookie last year. He made a mistake. Thats it. No story here. To call him one of the 86 biggest jerks in sports history or whatever, makes absolutely no sense. I can't believe someone paid this man to write a completely useless book like this. Freeman is jealous, that's his motivation.— allen_jones
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- How does someone playing for one year become one of the top 100 worst jerks of all time?— johnnysanz3
- I remember when this column used to actually report news or fresh commentary, not just parrot what other bloggers and journalists are saying. This article is about a book that came out in May, but did not come to the attention to Kapadia until a talk radio station recently had the author on....and it turns out the comments on DeSean were actually made in a Dallas newspaper last year. Who cares what a Dallas writer said about DeSean Jackson last year. Is this really news? All Kapadia does is just search the Internet all day and find any reference to the Eagles to put in this space. I preferred it when this article gave us actual news from sources in the Eagles camp or NFL folks.— SeanMcD
- I'd be happy to take a whole team of jerks if DeSean is the definition. Yes, that was a bone-head play but I'd be shocked if he didn't learn from that (and I'd be disappointed in the vets if they didn't give him an ear full). Let's see how things go as he matures. So far, I have nothing but support for DeSean.— greenday
- If he catches 80 balls for 1,000+ yards this season, he can be the biggest Jerk in the world, I could care less— pflynn20
- Of all the junkies, felons, wife beaters, and otherwise completely insane athletes that have come and gone, how is DeSean Jackson even part of the conversation? This is absurd.— birds4ever
wher in africa and wher in america is he from? wow, thats alot on real estate to lay cliam to ... i have friends from egypt, morocco, madagascar and south africa ..try calling them african-american, HAh!!— daveH- Comment removed.
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