Who? The media? I highly doubt the media has collectively given enough shits about Desean Jackson to collectively know his entire background. We're not talking about Lebron James. We're talking about Desean Jackson.
The Eagles have known since the police contacted them each time they contacted Jackson. The media in Cali would have also known.Those following the murder story would have known he was contacted about his association with the suspected murderers.
If you're talking about the Eagles (which could be the only other option): That's more reason for it to have not been the real reason for cutting him.
And thats why it makes no sense to leak a story that wasn't the reason
It's not only possible that they leaked it. It's also very plausable. I'm re-explain it to you.
They've mismanaged the situation enough so that the entire NFL community knows they REALLY want to get rid of Jackson. Desperation decreases value. It's an amateur way to handle an asset. When you make it painfully clear that you don't want something of value, it makes other people question the value of it. That's just basic human psychology.
Not even close to being in their interest....leaking an unsubstantiated rumor
Chip Kelly. That's easy. You're a coach who just finished his first season. Losing your highest paid offensive player that makes your system go....and getting nothing in return makes you look inept...UNLESS.......
Him being a cancer in the locker room and being cleared out by a new coach due to conduct detrimental to the team makes it more clear and these types actions have already been attached to him from back when he did his last contract.
That would fly better for the coach and the Eagles.
Fuck outta here with this bullshit. We're not arguing about the Kennedy assassination.
Anyone with half a brain is going to question this very ackward sitution. Considering that a plethora of NFL players are on the record saying teams will smear a player's name to affect his market value (post-release) when they are on bad terms... there is nothing to 'reach' about. It's perfectly plausable that this occured.
just like its easy to assume that the info came from the Eagles on a leak
You say its plausible but its makes bad business worse...It makes Jackson seem like a victim instead of the reason he was let go
That's not even possible. There have been 100s of article written on this topic. Surely you've not read all of them.
I doubt hundreds have been written but I have read multiple from different outlets.....Point is out of those hundreds you can't show one that names an eagles source and if there was one it would have been widely reported
In fact the police that investigated the murders have given statements to these articles but not the Eagles ?
You clearly seem not to understand how this world works. This is such an ignorant statement I don't even know where to begin. Random posts on the internet and a few baseless articles pale in comparison to The Eagles, as an organization, substantiating it. Thus, the media circus you have right now. You're sounding silly right now. The NFL is a powerful multi-billion dollar organization with a massive media reach.
I have been all over the world and have been in it for many years I know how it works and the most obvious isn't always the best answer.
Its obvious to assume the eagles leaked the story but it doesn't benefit them.
The NFL would have investigated jackson gang ties after the first police contact and if there was anything to it they would have acted then
Once again a team doesn't have to explain why they sign a player of release him...He already had a reputation for not being the greatest locker room presence and that would be enough...Just as it was with TO even when after the fact teammates said he was a great teammate.
This gang affiliation bullshit makes the eagles look bad.....it doesn't help them.
I thought you read all the articles? Chip Kelly was just on the record saying he loved Jackson's work ethic and everything he does for the team.
You mean Chip Kelly who has only been there for a year ? So did Chip Kelly say he was released for gang ties ?
See how simple that was... a team can shape narrative because they have media outlets at their disposal.
I just explained you before exactly why it makes all the fucking sense in the world. It's actually the most plausable argument given Chip Kelly's position right now. And even with an official clarification, if Jackson is not personally connected to any illegal activity, it becomes even more plausible.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-am/0ap2000000337073/Kelly-DeSean-knows-where-he-stands-with-us
Chip Kelly has addressed the DeSean Jackson trade rumors.
Surrounded by a throng of media members at the NFC Coaches Breakfast, the Philadelphia Eagles coach said, "I like DeSean, ... but we're always going to do what's best for the organization."
Battista: Parsing the DeSean drama
Chip Kelly's always guarded, so ambiguity on the DeSean
Jackson front is no surprise. Judy Battista reads between the lines. READ
Kelly admitted he has "no issue" with Jackson and that he got along with the Eagles' top wide receiver last season, but would not commit to DJax being on Philadelphia's roster by the start of organized team activities on April 21.
Kelly added that Jackson has not approached him or general manager Howie Roseman for a new contract. In 2012, Jackson signed a five-year contract extension worth up to $51 million.
Rumors of Jackson's exit (via trade or release) from the Eagles have been swirling since early last week with the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers all reportedly showing interest in the dynamic wide out.
Kelly's comments don't instill much confidence that Jackson will be apart of the 2014 Eagles, despite what Jackson thinks.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" broke down all the latest news at the NFL Annual Meeting
In the end, Chip Kelly didn't want DeSean Jackson on the Eagles
The Eagles knew about Jackson's alleged gang connections, his problems with authority, and his locker-room dramas long before Friday, when they released the wide receiver. They knew what they were getting when they drafted him in 2008.
So for the team to imply that his off-the-field behavior or an NJ.com report that detailed his alleged connection to reputed members of the Los Angeles-based Crips gang had anything to do with the wide receiver's release would be disingenuous.
The reasons the Eagles cut ties with Jackson after six seasons were many, but the overriding motive was a simple one: Kelly didn't want him on the team anymore. The Eagles coach has yet to explain the decision - nor did anyone from the organization on Friday - but Kelly's lower tolerance for Jackson than Andy Reid had is believed to be the primary explanation for why the team started shopping the 27-year-old Pro Bowl receiver on March 1.
After no trade offers, according to multiple NFL sources, the Eagles were faced with only two prospects - releasing Jackson or bringing back a player Kelly didn't want. The NJ.com report provided the team with the perfect opportunity to soften criticism for cutting a superstar in the prime of his career while getting nothing in return.
So rather than release Jackson on Wednesday, when they initially were contacted by NJ.com, they waited two days and cut him less than an hour after the story was posted. It's fair to wonder how much earlier the Eagles knew of the story and whether they were the impetus for its writing.
Sources within the organization are cited in the story as being concerned about Jackson's association with a reputed gang member who was connected to a homicide in 2010 - two years before the Eagles gave Jackson a new five-year, $47 million contract and four years before they ultimately released him.
The Eagles employ a security detail - "fixers" as they are sometimes known - whose job is almost exclusively digging up information on players. Jackson's association with reputed Crips gang members had been commonly known for years.
Releasing Jackson after the story was posted also made it seem as if the Eagles came to the realization that they would now get nothing in return once teams were made aware of the connection. Every team, though, already knew of Jackson's reputation when they scouted the first-round talent before the 2008 draft.
Jackson made strong denials in a statement, saying that his release had nothing "to do with any affiliation that has been speculated surrounding the company I keep off the field. I would like to make it clear that I am not and never have been part of any gang."
With the timing of the release and the Eagles' refusal to answer any questions about it, they have shifted the onus onto Jackson.
Teams will be reluctant to sign him now because of the public relations hit they will take.
Six teams have reportedly reached out to Jackson's agent, Joel Segal, but it's difficult to see him receiving anything near the value one would expect based on his 2013 production (82 catches for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns).
Other agents and players around the league are surely watching how the Eagles have allowed Jackson to twist in the wind.
The Eagles are well within their rights to jettison Jackson. Kelly is attempting to foster a new culture at the NovaCare Complex, and he had deemed Jackson expendable. But the selfishness, the lateness, and the immaturity were there long before Kelly arrived last January.
Two Eagles players who requested anonymity said that Jackson wasn't a clubhouse cancer, but he had become a distraction. They would not offer specifics. Both questioned whether his loss would hurt the offense and opined that he wouldn't be difficult to replace.
Jackson slipped into the second round of the 2008 draft. Reid had shied away from players with behavioral red flags for years, but he needed an explosive receiver and, with owner Jeffrey Lurie's endorsement, rolled the dice.
By 2010, Jackson had become one of the league's most electrifying players, but his play began to slip in 2011 because he wanted, but would not receive, a new contract. It was during that year that Los Angeles police called the Eagles to inform them that they planned to question Jackson in connection with a homicide, according to NJ.com.
A Jackson acquaintance, Theron Shakir, was one of two reputed Crips members suspected in the killing of 14-year-old Taburi Watson. Shakir was charged but eventually acquitted. Marques Binns was convicted.
The Eagles had no comment when NJ.com originally contacted them about the 2011 call from the Los Angeles police, but a team source later said that "current front-office members had been unaware of Jackson's links to an alleged killer" in the report.
Jackson received the new contract he had fretted over in March 2012 with Reid as head coach and Howie Roseman as general manager.
The Eagles' silence on the whole issue has been troublesome. There was an ESPN report that the team's lawyers advised against making public statements. It is believed there would be no need for lawyers unless the Eagles were being careful about opening themselves up to slander allegations.
It wouldn't be hard to explain. Kelly didn't want Jackson, so he was released after they couldn't find a trade partner
Read more at
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...ackson_on_the_Eagles.html#tGGaLA4sLaCpl4Wx.99