NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith appeared on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” earlier today, to discuss the circumstances surrounding DeSean Jackson‘s release from the Eagles. During the interview, Smith mentioned that the player’s association would be investigating whether the Eagles had leaked the story of Jackson’s affiliation with a Los Angeles gang to NJ.com, writes Mike Jones of the Washington Post.
“We’ve been in touch with DeSean, and first and foremost he is a tremendous football player and great young man,” Smith said. “On the issue of how he was released, whether or not there were comments or leaks from the team, misinformation to the media coming from the team, that’s something that we’re going to look at. We’ve always been aggressive about protecting the integrity of our players.”
A spokesman for the NFLPA confirmed Smith’s comments, although it is unclear how long the investigation process will take. It has not yet been reported what a potential punishment would be incurred should the Eagles be found guilty.
In an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Jackson was asked if he thought the Eagles could have potentially leaked the story in order to facilitate his release. Jackson said he did not believe the Eagles would have leaked the story, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com (via Twitter).