A college defensive backs coach was suspended for a social media post defending Kanye West and his multiple statements against Jewish people.
According to the Associated Press, the athletic director at Vanderbilt University, Candice Lee, sat down with defensive backs Coach Dan Jackson and asked him to “step back” from his team duties while the staff conducted an internal review of his beliefs and just how much he agrees with Ye.
On Monday, November 7th, Lee dropped a statement, saying, “It is important the university follows its standard process and conduct a thorough review of the complexities of this incident. Coach Jackson and I have agreed that he will step back from his responsibilities with the team during the Equal Opportunity and Access office’s review.”
https://t.co/KNEyj1CTzm pic.twitter.com/EH1Z06bIyf
— Candice Storey Lee (@VandyAD) November 5, 2022
Since the post was brought to the school administration’s attention, Jackson has apologized for his comment that said Ye was “two steps ahead of everyone else.”
“I want to sincerely apologize for recent comments that I made on 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 full context.”
“To be clear,” the coach said, “Antisemitism has no place in our society, and I reject all forms of hate. I’m embarrassed by my mistake but proud to work in a diverse intuition where we can learn from each other’s cultures.”
— Dan Jackson (@CoachDtjackson) November 5, 2022
He promised “to be better moving forward for myself, our program, and our institution.”