San Francisco 49ers

Tweet from 49ers' Jarryd Hayne draws ire of Anti-Defamation League

Published Jul. 14, 2015 3:29 p.m. ET

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San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Jarryd Hayne is trying to make a name for himself as a professional football player after crossing over from rugby. Unfortunately, a recent tweet has him in some hot water and has drawn the attention of the Anti-Defamation League.

“Jesus wanted to help people but was killed by his own people,” the ADL quoted Hayne tweeting July 1, via The San Francisco Chronicle. When someone on Twitter disagreed with that statement, Hayne then wrote, “The Jews were the people who took him to the Romans n forced them to give the order because they couldn’t.”

That tweet, which has since been deleted, drew a response from the ADL national director Abraham Foxman.

“The notion that ‘Jews killed Christ’ has fueled more than 2,000 years of anti-Semitism and violence and is still one of the more widely believed anti-Semitic tropes,” Foxman wrote. “This was irresponsible on his part, and I’m not sure he understands the pain he has caused or the impact of his words. I hope that Hayne will use this as an opportunity to learn about the roots of anti-Semitism and make clear to his thousands of fans around the world that anti-Semitism is unacceptable, both in sports and in society at large.”

Hayne has yet to discuss the tweets or issue an apology. His manager did comment on the tweets, saying it was “a personal comment and I haven’t discussed it with him. It’s not something I’m going to be chasing him down for.”

The 49ers are laying low on the comments as well and have yet to state anything publicly.

(h/t San Francisco Chronicle)