Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson has not hesitated to speak out on the state of race relations in the United States, but he's drawing both criticism and praise for claiming that Planned Parenthood was created to "exterminate blacks" and that "it's working."

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In an interview with the Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center, Watson, a devout Christian, said that he's puzzled by why so many blacks support Planned Parenthood.

"I do know that blacks kind of represent a large portion of the abortions, and I do know that honestly the whole idea with Planned Parenthood and (group founder Margaret) Sanger in the past was to exterminate blacks, and it’s kind of ironic that it’s working," Watson said.

"We (as minorities) support candidates, and overwhelmingly support the idea of having Planned Parenthood and the like, and yet, that is why she created it. We are buying it hook, line, and sinker, like it’s a great thing. It’s just amazing to me and abortion saddens me, period, but it seems to be something that is really pushed on minorities and provided to minorities especially as something that they should do.

"In the public, it seems to be painted that when minorities get pregnant they need to get abortions, especially when it comes to teen pregnancy. It’s like when black girls are pregnant, it’s like a statistic, but when white girls get pregnant, they get a TV show."

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Watson continued his criticism, saying blacks are "killing our children."

"We sit here and talk about advancing the black agenda, whatever that means, we talk about our interests, and what's important to us — like having political power and advancement and all those things — and then we are turning around and we are killing our children," Watson said. "And we are buying the lie that it's our personal decision to make."

Watson also posted a link to his Facebook page about a story on his comments, adding that, (A) lot of the women wouldn't be having abortions if the men would step up and be a part of what they are already biologically a part of."

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Watson's incendiary comments on such a controversial issue have drawn a predictable mix of praise and criticism in social media. Just check out the comments on his Facebook page.

Watson is certainly not the first person to suggest that Sanger held racist views, which were unfortunately common in American society in the early 20th century. But as a popular NFL star sharing the message on social media, that history might find a new audience unaware of Planned Parenthood's origins.

The 35-year-old Watson signed a two-year, $7 million deal with the Ravens in the offseason.