Michigan RB Donovan Edwards 'learned a lot' from reaction to controversial retweet: 'I love all people'
Last October, Michigan Wolverines football junior running back Donovan Edwards retweeted a post that some perceived to be antisemitic. The original tweet from an account called ‘Lord of the Film’ included a video with renowned rap artist Kanye West discussing his view on the landscape of Hollywood and expressing that he believes Jewish executives profit from the promotion of violence and drugs in rap music. Edwards’ retweet caused a stir on social media.
Edwards took to Twitter the next day to call the retweet a “mistake” and apologized for those in the Jewish community that he hurt, saying he is “unequivocally against racism, exploitation and oppression in all forms, including stereotyping and trafficking in hate. I have nothing but love for others and I never judge anyone based on race or religion.”
Unprompted at the end of his Friday press conference during Michigan’s fall camp Aug. 11, Edwards decided to address the incident from last season.
“I feel like that was a great thing for me, because it was a learning and building experience for me,” Edwards noted. “The way I look at that is, I don’t have any time of hatred. I don’t disgrace anybody. I have love for everybody, all people. I don’t care who you are — black, white, Puerto Rican, Dominican, I don’t care, because everybody is God’s children in the eyes of God. There’s nothing in the Bible that says only one race can make it into heaven’s gates. Everybody can.”
The Michigan running back added that he “can’t allow a caption define who I am,” and that he’s learned to explain for himself instead of let others interpret his social media activity as a reflection of his character.
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“It’s not that I hate Jewish people — I don’t hate Jewish people,” Edwards said. “Black people are Jewish, too, just like how there are many other races who are other races. I don’t hate Buddist people, I don’t hate Muslim people. I love all races, because all religions are right. All religions have the same thing, and that is to love God and to treat your neighbor accordingly, to love each other the way that you love yourself.”
Edwards reiterated that he’s used the experience to grow as a person.
“I learned a lot from that, and that’s why I don’t deprive myself of who I am, because I know who I am,” the Michigan standout said. “If you ask people in this building who really know me, they’ll say I’m a great person, and I know that myself, too.
“I apologize to anybody who I may have hurt, and I understand my actions and I’m going to grow from them. It’s taught me a lot, so I’m thankful that happened.”
As promised by University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker on Twitter last fall, the Wolverines team visited The Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, Mich. after the 2022 season concluded.
