Seahawks’ Fred Jackson on TMZ: ‘People gotta make a living doing stuff’

Fred Jackson talked about celebrity gossip site TMZ, which erroneously reported witnesses saw Jackson and teammate Marshawn Lynch drag racing.

BY ERIC MANDEL

Nov 12, 2015, 10:58 AM Updated: 1:11 pm

Follow on Google News

Fred Jackson ended up on TMZ after crashing his car near Seahawks headquarters. (Brady Henderson photo)

(Brady Henderson photo)

The world of celebrity is filled with gossip and rumors. For Fred Jackson, who was in TMZ’s cross-hairs last month, it’s about taking the high-road.

Jackson, a backup running back for the Seahawks signed in September, crashed his sports car into a street sign outside of the team’s headquarters on Oct. 20. The celebrity gossip site reported that witnesses saw Jackson and fellow running back Marshawn Lynch drag racing before the crash.

Jackson later denied that he was racing, stating in a Tweet that he lost control of his car and that multiple teammates – including Lynch – stopped to check on him. The statement from Renton police also called TMZ’s report false.

Rumors and false reports can be damaging to anyone, let alone a running back who was signed for both his skill and his positive influence in a locker room. Jackson told 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Brock and Salk” that “it’s something that I don’t even follow” and didn’t appear to hold any grudges.

“It’s one of those things that, people gotta make a living doing stuff and that’s the way they do it and it is what it is,” he said.

Apparently another way TMZ writers make a living is by checking in with McDonalds restaurants in Dallas.