Zach Banner & Cam Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers Are Mensches

Having commented on Philadelphia Eagles' wide receiver DeSean Jackson's anti-Semitic statements and New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman's overture to Jackson, I am heartened to see that two African-American members of the Pittsburgh Steelers have spoken out forcefully against anti-Semitism.

Steelers' offensive tackle Zach Banner posted a video on Twitter explaining he only began to understand the history of anti-Semitism when he played college football at USC and hit home after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018:

This beautiful city of Pittsburgh ... and we need to understand Jewish people deal with the same amount of hate and similar hardships and hard times. I'm not trying to get emotional right now, but 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 elevating ourselves, we can't do that while stepping on the back of other people to elevate ourselves, and that's very, very important to me, and it should be important to everyone.

We can't preach equality but in result flip the script and change the hierarchy, if that makes sense. Change your heart, put your arm around people, and let's all uplift each other.

Banner's teammate Cam Heyward, a defensive tackle, was more direct concerning Jackson's comments calling them "wrong" in two tweets on the subject:

Black lives matter and there is growth that needs to take place. As we strive to break these injustices let’s not put down other religions, cultures, and races along the way. The way I see it Desean was wrong. There are many people from Jewish community that I care about. The tree of life shooting was a reminder of the ignorance and injustice. All we can ask for is an apology and actions behind the change. Time for growth.

I must admit I was skeptical as to whether African-American athletes (particularly in the NFL) would speak out against anti-Semitism. I am heartened by Banner and Heyward's intervention. Obviously, the Tree of Life synagogue shooting made a deep impression on both men. I can only hope it resonates beyond Pittsburgh. While both Banner and Heyward support Black Lives Matter they do not support at the expense of hatred and intolerance towards the Jewish community. 

In this regard both Zach Banner and Cam Heyward are mensches.