Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson accused ESPN journalist Jamison Hensley of defaming him after Hensley accused Jackson of tweeting an “anti-gay phrase.”
: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens quarterback, interacts with service members after practice at Ravens Training Camp Facility in Owings Mills, Md., July 30, 2018. More than 1,000 service members from throughout the National Capital Region filled the stands to watch as players and coaches ran a variety of drills and scrimmages. Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Delano Scott, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Following the Baltimore Ravens loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-28 on Sunday, November 27th, Jackson responded to a fan who suggested the team not pay him $250 million, but rather spend that money a “well rounded team.”
Twitter user CastleWillKill tweeted, “When someone is asking for over 250 mil guaranteed like Lamar Jackson … games like this should not come to Justin Tucker. Let Lamar walk and spend that money on a well rounded team.”
CastleWillKill Twitter
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Jackson replied in a now-deleted tweet, “Boy STFU y’all be cappin too much on this app mf never smelt a football field never did shit but eat dick!!”
Dat_Dude904 Twitter
Following the deletion of the tweet, ESPN Staff Writer Jamison Hensley penned an article titled “Ravens QB Lamar Jackson deletes vulgar tweet blasting critic.”
In the first sentence of the article, Hensley wrote, “Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson responded to a social media post Sunday that criticized his performance with a profanity-laced tweet that included an anti-gay phrase.”
Lamar Jackson via Baltimore Ravens YouTube
Jackson responded to this accusation by accusing Hensely of defamation. He tweeted at him writing, “his is Defamation of my character, Because not once have I ever mentioned or disrespect anyone’s Sexuality, sexual orientation, gender, Religion or Race. Your reaching…”
Lamar Jackson Twitter
Hensley wasn’t the only one to frame Jackson’s tweet as “anti-gay.” ESPN’s First Take host Molly Qerim also asserted it was “anti-gay.”
She opened a segment discussing the Ravens loss and Jackson’s now-deleted tweet saying, “Lamar replied with a profanity-laced tweet that included an anti-gay phrase and has since been deleted.”
https://youtu.be/CueNCRKO3hY
Urban Dictionary’s top two definitions for the phrase “eat a dick” define it as “a generic yet abrasive comeback to a verbal attack,” and “the comeback of all comebacks; can be used in any situation, instant shutdown; also can be used to reject someone.”
A third definition reads, “a phrase to convey anger, most effective against extremely obtuse straight males as it implies they are homosexual.”
Lamar Jackson as a member of the Baltimore Ravens on the sidelines during a game against the Washington Football Team at FedEx Field in Landover, MD on October 4, 2020. Photo Credit: All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What do you make of Jackson’s accusation against Hensley? Do you think Hensley was defaming Jackson?