Jackpot Records May Have Ruined DeSean Jackson's NFL Career*

* OK, not really. But still.

Bear with us, as this takes some explaining.

As NFL fans know, last Friday, the Philadelphia Eagles released wide receiver DeSean Jackson—a surprising move, considering he's coming off the best season of his career. Several theories have been floated as to why the organization decided to sever ties with a three-time Pro Bowler, but the one that's stuck as a national talking point is Jackson's alleged gang ties.

An article published by NJ.com shortly before the Eagles announced they were cutting Jackson laid out the accusations connecting the 27-year-old native of Long Beach, Calif., to the Crips, including tenuous links to two supposedly gang-related murders and incidents of Jackson throwing up gang signs during games and on Instagram.  

Among the more esoteric pieces of reported "evidence," though, is the fact that Jackson founded a record label called Jaccpot Records. Why the janky spelling? Well, according to the article, Crips members refuse to place the letter "C" next to a "K," "because in gangspeak, that stands for 'Crip Killer.'" (If he is indeed a Crip, I can only imagine the existential crisis Jackson must go through every time he puts on his jersey or signs a contract. Also, I've always wondered why Louie tests so low in certain L.A. neighborhoods.)

When questioned by police, however, Jackson offered a different explanation as to why he named the label Jaccpot: Because "Jackpot Records" was already taken. As Grantland's Bill Barnwell points out, "[t]here are several previously existing labels that go by the name of Jackpot Records, including the current Portland-based outfit that has re-released albums by the likes of Jandek."

So what does this all mean, aside from the fact that we now live in a reality where Jandek is referenced in an NFL story? Well, either DeSean Jackson is a Crip who's been flaunting his affiliations in plain sight. Or, he's an innocent aspiring music impresario whose name is being wrongly besmirched, due in part to one of Portland's venerable cultural institutions. (Let's just hope he doesn't try to repair his image by opening a recording studio, too—he'll never forgive us.)

Jackson will most likely land with another team, but if and when he ends up out of the league, he should totally be offered a spot in Drumgasm. It's only fair.

WWeek 2015

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