Geoff schwartz book professional#
Geoff schwartz book series#

Schwartz said he agreed that it was better to go “the education route” than “the cancellation route” - and many of his colleagues said they shared his instincts. More than one rabbi offered to meet with Jackson, and Julian Edelman of the New England Patriots, who is Jewish, said he spoke to Jackson and invited him to visit the US Holocaust Museum and Memorial in Washington. He later walked back the inflammatory comment.) (Stephen Jackson, a former NBA player and now a leading Black Lives Matter activist, had defended DeSean Jackson, no relation, and used an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. The reaction of most leaders of the Jewish community, in Philadelphia and nationwide, has been to reach out to Jackson in order to educate him rather than pushing for his release or suspension from the NFL. Jackson later apologized, and was admonished and fined - but not suspended or released - by the Eagles, a team whose owner (Jeffrey Lurie) and general manager (Howie Roseman) are both Jewish. Jackson, a veteran NFL player, had posted a page from a book that quoted Hitler as stating that “because the white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel and to keep America’s secret the Jews will blackmail America” and “The will extort America, their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.” The quote was not genuinely said by Hitler. “But, I mean, the timeliness of DeSean Jackson’s comments, and apology, and then Stephen Jackson, obviously showing that there’s an ignorance.” “I wanted a way to connect, whether it’s yeshiva kids, or anyone, to get inspired,” Neuman said of the original idea. Weeks ago, Neuman began planning a live discussion among current and former NFL players who are Jewish in keeping with his mission to highlight “strong and powerful Jews.” But after the news broke that Jackson had posted anti-Semitic quotes falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler, the event took on both a new urgency and tone. “When I was a 10-year-old, I would have wanted to see a strong, powerful Jew with a yarmulke on,” he told the JTA, so he founded the nonprofit Jewish Inspiration Foundation.

Geoff schwartz book series#

The event, streamed live on, was the brainchild of Michael Neuman, an Orthodox Jewish psychologist who gained a measure of fame last year when he wore a kippah while competed on, and winning, the LeBron James-produced athletic competition series “Million Dollar Mile.”

Geoff schwartz book professional#

Schwartz was one of nine current and retired Jewish NFLers who participated in a three-hour online event about Jews and professional football in which players said they had encountered few people within the league who understood their background. Guys not knowing about our culture and our religion.” “I took that from my experience in the locker room. “I just thought to myself it’s ignorance - someone who has no idea whatsoever what anti-Semitism is, why his quote could be hurtful to Jews, or really to a lot of people,” said Schwartz, an offensive lineman who played for five teams in his eight-year NFL career. Former professional football player Geoff Schwartz wasn’t surprised when he heard about Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic Instagram posts.