I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about the Eagles and Chip Kelly, primarily to help jumpstart my 8-9yr old Jets Flag offense (My kid decided to go big green today). As I was reading today I discovered this link. Ruh Roh, Rorge. Riley Cooper, a talented and dedicated wideout has officially dunked his foot in his mouth. To his credit we have no idea of the context. From what this link says, and from his speech at that link, he may have been referring to an African American security guard that wouldn’t let him backstage.
Riley, you play in the NFL. Do you know what that stands for? Seriously though, he ought to be grateful to the once and powerful Paula Deen for falling on the racial sword not too long ago. He may be able to survive this. I don’t know how to take it, and I don’t know that I am someone who should have a role in ‘taking it’. I’ll say it again: Freedom of Speech is a zero-sum game. If someone wants to make an offensive comment–no matter the context–they have a right to do so. As an employee of a visible and highly recognized organization, they should recognize that despite this freedom, people also have the right to hate on you the moment you unclench your jaw.
Here’s what I think of Riley Cooper: He is a pure athlete who was drafted as a baseball player out of high school and could start at wideout on a dozen or more teams in the league. He is a tough guy with a knack for getting open and making tough catches. He isn’t a 16 game guy, but he’ll give you a solid 9 or 10. I don’t care about the rest as a fan, because he isn’t the kind of racist person that goes around trying to defame an entire people. He ain’t no Nugent.