As the second-biggest current US sports news story, I thought there would already be discussion of this. But anyway, Riley Cooper says the N-word, gets fined, can’t be Shady McCoy’s friend anymore.
I think the fine is a bit much; yeah, he did something stupid, but I don’t think it warrants that kind of sanction. If the fine is actually for threatening to fight people that makes more sense.
Having said that, Roy Hibbert got fined for (IMHO) much less.
The team pays him a bunch of money and expects him not to embarrass them. He did that, so I’m OK with the fine.
I was unaware of this incident. However, I will say, having lived 51 years without ever saying that word except when necessary (quoting others, in court for example), use of that word exposes serious character issues and bigotry. There’s something wrong with a person who has that as part of his vocabulary. I’m not sure it warrants a fine, but something like this isn’t a “mistake.” It reveals who you are.
“I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Cooper seems sincerely contrite, and he will probably endure whatever punishment or penance he must… but realistically, I think his career is over.
He’s not a star or an All-Pro, after all- just a decent receiver. The Eagles have to figure they could pick up a receiver of comparable (or nearly comparable) talent on the free agent market, one who won’t make embarrassing headlines.
Most teams, eventually including the Eagles, will probably figure, “Too bad- he’s a decent receiver and probably a decent guy, but he has too much baggage now, and he’s just more of a headache than he’s worth.”
And if he DOES keep his job, I wouldn’t want to be him when he makes a catch over the middle, and a black safety has a chance for some payback.
He just left training camp:
Riley Cooper of Philadelphia Eagles leaves team for counseling - ESPN
I just can’t imagine that somebody who has played enough football to make it to the NFL could be racist. You’d think that would have been caught much earlier.
Seriously? I’m not even saying that Riley Cooper is a racist, but people can hide bad things about themselves for a very long time (or even forever).
I tend to think it was just a moment of nuttiness in an otherwise non-racist life. I’ve probably said equally offensive things that seemed to come out of nowhere in the past, whether it was because I was drunk or angry or whatever.
Mel Gibson too. I’m beginning to fear sorry for the guy, but I’m still shocked that anyone would conduct themselves this way out of the blue, if it was not already part of their vocabulary.
Didn’t he, in the context of trying to fight a black person, say “I’ll fight every nigger here”?
I’m not that great of a person but I’m totally certain I’ve never said anything that offensive.
This story is pretty much a non-issue to me. He apologized and is doing the counseling thing which is the standard procedure for athletes messing up. I don’t think it makes any sense to kick him off the team or suspend him. I would be shocked if players haven’t said worse on the field. Heck, I heard worse in my HS locker room.
Honestly, if the MLB released their sanctions this week like they were supposed to then we really wouldn’t be hearing much about the Cooper issue.
I’m mostly curious about how many black folks were at this Kenny Chesney concert anyway.
How many black people did he think he would have to fight at a Kenny Chesney concert anyways?
Most of the security guards, I imagine. That’s who he was yelling at.
#RileyCooperWillFight https://mobile.twitter.com/search?had_popular=true&q=RileyCooperwillfight
Too funny! 
Clearly Cooper is an idiot. Not only is he stupid for saying a dumbass, racist, stupid thing but he is in an organization where over 60% of his teammates are the very people he is insulting. On top of that, he’s a wide receiver, the only guys on the team that are smaller and skinnier than him are the kickers. Not that I’m saying that a white lineman or linebacker should say these things, but he’s asking to asking to have his ass ripped off by a teammate, stuffed into his helmet, and then shoved back onto his head. But he apologized, so I guess it’s OK. right?
I also find it funny that he’s in Philadelphia and he’s getting counseling there. The same place that throws batteries at the players and has a jail in their own stadium.
I assume the counseling is someone sitting Cooper down and screaming “Never say that again! Never EVER say that again! Do you not understand people have cameraphones?!” over and over again.
You have? That’s pretty damming in my opinion. It’s not just that he said some thing racist, but that it was directed at a Black person doing their job. Not saying what he said makes him the worst person ever, but I think it’s pretty clear he is a coward and a jerk at best. And while his apology seemed sincere, I question whether he was being honest when he said he NEVER said the word before. That seems highly unlikely to me.
As an Eagles fan, I a generally okay with their reaction so far, but I get kinda tired of Roger Goodell taking a very cavalier attitude towards things like this while grandstanding on lots of others.
See, that’s the thing. Back when i was a teenager and hung out with a lot of black people and listened to nothing but rap i found myself using nigger when i meant person once in a while. It is hard not to get caught up in the culture when you live in it. It’s not an excuse for this kind of idiocy, but he could have easily meant “I’ll fight everybody in here” which is exactly what it would have meant if a black guy said it.