USC Trojans alumni Zach Banner, now a tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, took to Twitter on Wednesday to speak out against Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s anti-semitic comments made earlier in the week.
“We shouldn’t be blind to other groups’ history, traditions and other stuff they have gone through, some of the things that have set them back,” said Banner, who emphasized the importance of education. “If you don’t know what the Holocaust is, you’re really just failing yourself.”
This video is to transition from the incident, and move forward as a community. Not to harp on @DeSeanJackson10 mistake, but to progress by educating ourselves. We can’t move forward while allowing ourselves to leave another minority race in the dark.#Equality pic.twitter.com/MnLnCCYzQL
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) July 8, 2020
Banner was one of the first players to publicly speak out against Jackson’s comments, which helped make the video was a massive hit, garnering over 700,000 views.
“I just needed to be able to post something,” Banner told USC officials. “I could never imagine it was going to get this much attention….To be able to uplift anybody, and be able to make someone’s day, one individual is okay to me, but when that love is appreciated worldwide, it’s almost too much, because I am just so proud of not only myself but when I do something like that, but I’m representing my friends.”
Banner has done more than just post videos, however, as his B3 Foundation received a ton of financial support following his message – garnering over $50,000 in donations since Wednesday. The B3 Foundation supports youth in Tacoma, Los Angeles and Guam.
Banner, who earned a degree in sociology from USC before getting selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft, is continuing to interact with folks about social issues on his Twitter account.
“I’m ready for that challenge,” Banner continued. “To be able to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community as I am also trying to uplift my own through the Black Lives Matter, and the Black and brown people.”
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