Football coach’s apology over Kanye West is latest example of anti-Semitic controversies in higher ed
Vanderbilt's athletic director and head coach released a statement on the same day stating that they were ‘deeply disappointed’ and ‘handling [the situation] internally.’
Jackson’s post stands in a long line of increasing antisemitic sentiment on college campuses.
Vanderbilt University (VU) assistant football coach Dan Jackson issued a public apology after his Facebook post appearing to defend Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic comments sparked backlash.
The post on Jackson’s private account stated people were trying to “silence” Kanye.
“Kayne is two steps ahead of everyone. He’s not crazy. People try to silence him because he thinks for himself,” the post read, according to the group StopAntisemitism (SA).
We are extremely concerned to see Vanderbilt University’s Assistant Football Coach - Dan Jackson - defend Kanye West’s antisemitism on a Facebook thread, stating people need to wake up.
Wake up to what exactly? Kanye’s ongoing peddling that Jews control the world?! pic.twitter.com/473Dr6p8Ww— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 4, 2022
Jackson’s apology stated that it was “not my intent to offend.”
“I want to sincerely apologize for recent comments that I made on my social media. While it was certainly not my intent to offend, my wording was careless, and it was in poor judgment to wade into such a discussion without the full context,” he wrote.
— Dan Jackson (@CoachDtjackson) November 5, 2022
Jackson’s post stands in a long line of increasing antisemitic sentiment on college campuses.
Students at the Univeristy of California-Berkeley adopted anti-Israel bylaws prohibiting speakers who support the state of Israel from being hosted on campus as well as supporting the boycott, divestment, and sanction movement in order to support Palestine.
[RELATED: Stanford issues apology for past discrimination of Jewish students]
Campus Reform also reported on several Jewish students at SUNY-New Paltz who were kicked out of a sexual assault survivor group after they posted pro-Israel content on their social media.
Brooklyn College held an “implicit bias training” on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur sparking backlash from the Jewish community.
VU Athletic Director Candice Lee and Head Coach Clark Lea also released a statement on the same day stating that they were “deeply disappointed” and “handling [the situation] internally.”
https://t.co/KNEyj1CTzm pic.twitter.com/EH1Z06bIyf
— Candice Storey Lee (@VandyAD) November 5, 2022
SA criticized Jackson’s comments, “[w]ake up to what exactly? Kanye’s ongoing peddling that Jews control the world?!”
[RELATED: UPDATE: Open letter to Jewish university condemns newly formed student group]
The post was originally private but an unknown source screen recorded the post and comments and sent it to SA.
Campus Reform contacted Jackson, Vanderbilt, Lee, Lea, and SA for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
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