I know that a lot of you may be calling me a sellout and/or Uncle Tom after reading the title of this rant. Just hear me out for a minute.
First of all, Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver Riley Cooper was an idiot for uttering a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert. In the video, Cooper vowed to “fight every n—–” at the July concert in Philadelphia.
Even though Cooper apologized Wednesday – claiming that he was drunk and that was not how he feels in his heart and that his parents raised him better than that – he will never live this down. As far as his drunkenness was concerned, I always say a drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.
In short, I think that Cooper is a stupid mother(lover) for doing what he did.
Do I think Cooper is a racist? I dunno. From what I read, he was very cool with a lot of the brothers in the Eagles’ locker room.
And here’s where the TRUE punishment comes in.
I believe that if the NFL had suspended Cooper, he would not have had to deal with his black teammates on a daily basis. Cooper would have been safe in the cocoon that is his home, away from his teammates and the media.
Because the NFL did not suspend Cooper, he has to face those aforementioned black teammates everyday. In fact, ESPN’s Ashley Fox mentioned that Cooper was often alone on the sidelines after drills, with no teammate (black or white) within a few yards of him.
Even after Cooper apologized, teammates were divided on what to make of him. While some players such as Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin (Cooper’s best friend on the team) forgave him, others such as LeSean McCoy (who also once considered Cooper a friend) lost respect for him. And you know that some of his defensive teammates will be giving him some “love taps” during scrimmages.
Needless to say, Cooper is going to be pretty radioactive in the Eagles’ locker room – and he has to deal with that (as well he should).
Oh, and you know that defensive players from other teams will be taking out bounties on Cooper for the entire 2013 season. If the NFL had chosen to suspend him, Cooper would have been shielded from the drama that he had created.
This is why I hope that new head coach Chip Kelly does not cut him because this would be a valuable learning experience for Cooper. After all, nothing says “true punishment” more than dealing with the fallout you created.
Categories: NFL
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