Jarryd Hayne deletes tweets after backlash

San Francisco 49ers running back and returner Jarryd Hayne, the former rugby superstar who left the Australian NRL to play in the NFL, deleted a couple of tweets on Friday after a little controversy.

On July 1, Hayne Tweeted the following:

"Jesus wanted to help people but was killed by his own people."

When challenged by one of his followers, Hayne tweeted the following the next day:

"The Jews were the people who took him to the Romans n forced them to give the order because they couldn't."

The tweets angered Jewish groups by stating that Jews were responsible for Jesus Christ's death. The controversy grabbed headlines in Australia while Hayne was in attendance at the Hillsong convention.

In 1965, the Vatican officially recognised that the Jews were not culpable in Jesus Christ's death and the view that they were is now associated with anti-Semitism. The argument over who was responsible for the death has created fighting and persecution for centuries.

Hayne's Australian manager called the tweets "just a personal comment" and had nothing more to say on the issue.

Hayne's tweets were deleted on Friday morning after Fairfax Media contacted Hayne's manager.