It took a slew of celebrity Redskins fans to convince electrifying wide receiver DeSean Jackson to sign on the dotted line in Washington. Everyone from Kevin Durant, the rapper Wale, NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., and even Dallas Cowboys supporter John Wall got in on the recruitment. Per the WaPo (via TD Daily):
“I’m gonna put it like this: Wale is a good friend of mine as well,” Jackson said. “He’s a good rapper, he does his thing out here in D.C., puts on for the city. It was a little influenced by Wale. Another influence was my boy Durant. Kevin Durant been calling me, he been calling and saying man you know how I’d go crazy for you to be in D.C. I mean, what better place is there for me to be? I’m happy to be here. I’m glad, man, honestly I can say that.”
This all came after Jackson again described the influence of Robert Griffin III and DeAngelo Hall in recruiting him.
“RGIII came to my house out in Cali before I even made this trip,” Jackson said on ESPN 980. “He was like man c’mon bro, I need you to come make this happen for me. And honestly I can sit here and say him and D Hall did a great job. I might think they’re the owners and the GM here. The way they got love out here was awesome. So it just shows what type of tradition they have here. And Bruce [Allen] did a great job of just hearing them out and listening to them. And it makes me feel at home. So it was a no-brainer for myself.”
Turns out (John) Wall and Jackson had a pre-existing relationships from both keeping homes in Southern California, and Wall put in a word during Jackson’s visit to Washington.
“I knew him. I met him in L.A. and just said, ‘Waddup’ to him,” Wall said. “[Monday] night, we lost that game in Charlotte, and I was mad and upset. And they all had went to Eden to show him a good time, and I wanted to go, but I was mad about the game. So I just told him, enjoy your trip, wish you the best of luck, and I know they’d love to have [you] here. That’s something big. They got another weapon to make their team dangerous.”
But why would a Cowboys fan try to help the Redskins?
“I’m a Cowboys fan, I ain’t going to lie about that,” Wall said. “But I tell people — it’s kind of weird — but when they are not playing each other, I don’t mind cheering for [the Redskins]. Because I go to the games, and I’m cool with RGIII and DeAngelo Hall and those guys. Don’t look like [the Cowboys] trying to get better anytime soon. So, somebody got to do good.”
