Steelers OT Zach Banner supports Jewish community in wake of DeSean Jackson controversy

Saying he had a sleepless “couple of hours” Wednesday morning, Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Zach Banner used his official Twitter account to post his reaction to the DeSean Jackson controversy.

In his post, Banner wrote that his intentions were not to “harp on” Jackson, who has come under fire for anti-Semitic comments he posted on social media, but to educate his followers on the mistake that the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver made.

“We can’t move forward while allowing ourselves to leave another minority race in the dark,” Banner wrote.

Banner tried to hold back his emotions in the 2-minute, 18-second video in which he talked about a “common misbelief among Black and brown people … that Jewish people are just like any other white race.

“You mix them up with the rest of the majority and you don’t understand they are a minority as well.”

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, who is of Chamorro and African-American descent, said several of his family members are Jewish.

Banner spoke about the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in October 2018 that resulted in 11 deaths as an example of the hatred the Jewish community endures. The shooting occurred in Banner’s first season with the Steelers.

“We need to understand that Jewish people deal with the same amount of hate and similar hardships and hard times,” Banner said. “I want to preach to the Black and brown community that we need to uplift them and put our arms around them just as much when we talk about Black Lives Matter and talk about elevating ourselves.

“We can’t do that while stepping on the backs of other people to elevate ourselves.”

Banner has participated in Black Lives Matter protests in Pittsburgh since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in May. Banner is one of the few Steelers players who has spent the past offseason living in the city.

Jackson has apologized several times since posting his anti-Semitic comments that he attributed to Adolph Hitler. The Eagles criticized Jackson, and the NFL called his actions “highly inappropriate, offensive and divisive.”

Banner said his intention isn’t to pile onto Jackson.

“I saw his apology video, and it seems like his heart is in the right place,” Banner said.