What Up Cuz? Gang Bangin' Desean Jackson Throws Up Signs At BET Awards

Hasn’t he gotten in enough trouble throwing up the squad?

Desean Jackson Uses “Gang” Hand Gestures On Stage At BET Awards

He says he isn’t gang-affiliated, but he sure has an affinity for tossing up Crip symbols in public places and wearing suspect bandanas to television appearances…

Tweets were talking last night when Jackson, appearing onstage with Boris Kodjoe and English soccer star Daniel Sturridge, threw up the familiar hand gesture that essentially got him fired from the Eagles. But, in the latest issue of ESPN magazine, Jackson insists that everyone has got him and his Crip hands all wrong. Via ESPN:

Washington Washington Football Team wide receiver DeSean Jackson said he has never been in a gang and that any alleged gang signs he displays are just “hand gestures” dedicated to his childhood friends.

Jackson, in an interview with ESPN The Magazine, said he knows people in gangs. But any implication that his hand gestures during games or on social media are gang-related is wrong, he said.

“If I score a touchdown or make a play and my boys at home can see me throwing up the area we’re from, that’s me showing them love,” Jackson told ESPN The Magazine. “They weren’t fortunate enough to make it where I’m at. All my friends wanted to be in the NFL growing up, but they weren’t able to do that, and I was. That doesn’t mean I forgot about them. They’re my boys, I grew up with them, and I’m going to give them love.”

Jackson’s mother, Gayle, said her son’s loyalty has always been unshakable.

“Those guys gravitated toward him because he had structure in his life,” she said. “A lot of time I was trying to chase these cats away. I told him it would catch up with him and that people don’t understand, so he should leave those guys alone. He told me, ‘Mom, you can’t treat people like that.’ ”

Jackson, 27, signed with Washington on April 2, five days after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles. At the time, reports indicated the Eagles were troubled by Jackson’s alleged gang connections. This included an NJ.com report, which quoted a Los Angeles police detective.

“Those were neighborhood Crip gang signs,” the detective told NJ.com, referencing some of Jackson’s hand signs during a game against Washington.

So his explanation is basically: “I’m not in a gang, just ALL of my friends are.” Oh. ok.