Before the 2024 season, the last time the Washington Commanders went to a conference championship game, they were still the Redskins. In 1991, grunge rock was hot, “The Silence of the Lambs” was a box office hit, and the Gulf War ended.
After that Super Bowl win, Washington fell into a rut. Since then, they’ve had two other owners but still haven’t sniffed a Super Bowl in decades. Then Jayden Daniels entered the picture.
He earned plenty of attention with his rookie performance in 2024 — enough that Commanders fans thought they might actually have a shot at another Super Bowl appearance.
When you have that kind of success, you become a household name overnight, and that’s been the case for Daniels. Now, his mother is making news, too, for her comments about her son’s love life.
Regina Jackson Speaks Out on Son Jayden Daniels’ Love Life
Recently, Daniels’ mother, Regina Jackson, joined former Pittsburgh Steeler turned analyst Ryan Clark on his podcast, The Pivot. Clark hosted a Mother’s Day special and asked Jackson about the recent criticism she received for seeming to interfere with Daniels’ possible relationship with USC basketball phenom JuJu Watkins.
JuJu Watkins and Jayden Daniels know ball 🏀🏈 pic.twitter.com/Ex5mRstZF3
— ESPN (@espn)
Daniels and Watkins have been seen at each other’s games more than once. Most recently, they were caught on camera attending a women’s March Madness game, smiling together in the stands. Then Jackson arrived and sat between them.
Clark asked Jackson about the situation and her past comments about trying to be a “good mother” by protecting her son from predators, including women.
She said the whole “girls” comment came when Daniels was at LSU, and she had been asked what her biggest fear was. Jackson said that being preyed upon should be every parent’s biggest concern.
“If you’re a star athlete and you’re a female at WNBA, that should be your biggest fear. Because you’re a public figure and your dollar amount is associated with your name. So you never know who really is there for you and who’s really against you.”
“My son can date. He can live free. He makes his own decisions”- Regina Jackson on son Jayden Daniels.
Every athlete’s parents should want them surrounded by good humans. Whether it’s significant others or friends. @LovelyMzJackson says they’ve worked too hard to get to this… pic.twitter.com/1nAroXMbMj
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25)
She went on to say that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want Daniels to find love or date. Jackson explained that her son does value her opinion, and that when her kids were young, she put in the hard work for them — and they know it.
“I want Jayden to date. I’m putting it on record: my son can date, he can live freely, make his own decisions. I worked too hard to allow anybody, at any moment, to come in and just take it away. I have a view of what I feel a good person is, but my son is 24, and he does have to go through things and learn on his own.”
Jackson said she’s very grateful to have a child with such a good head on his shoulders. She described him as a homebody who loves sports and is extremely focused on his career. She’s also helping him build a life after football to keep him involved in the community.
