Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly acknowledged Tuesday that the team’s decision to keep Riley Cooper after a 2013 incident in which the wide receiver was caught on camera using a racial slur “could be” playing into the racism claims that have persisted around the club.
The freshest criticism has come from cornerback Brandon Boykin, who said the third-year Eagles coach is “uncomfortable around grown men of our culture” in a text message to regional sports network CSN Philadelphia shortly after he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.
That remark came three months after LeSean McCoy, also traded from Philadelphia this off-season, said that Kelly “got rid of all the black players” – a reference to the releases of wide receiver DeSean Jackson, cornerback Cary Williams and linebacker Trent Cole, and the decision to let wideout Jeremy Maclin walk in free agency.
Previously, Tra Thomas, a longtime Eagles offensive lineman who spent two years on the coaching staff under Kelly, said that players sensed “a hint of racism” in Kelly’s methods.
“There could be,” Kelly said Tuesday when asked directly if he drew a connection between the handling of the Cooper incident and the subsequent comments from departed players. “I literally don’t spend time trying to connect Y to X to Z. We have other things to do.”
Cooper, who is entering his sixth NFL season, made national headlines in July 2013 when video surfaced of the wideout using a racial slur after being denied backstage access at a Kenny Chesney concert at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles. He apologized and was fined an undisclosed amount, but given no further reprimand.
Kelly added: “I think that Riley made a mistake. That’s part of it. We all backed him. Michael [Vick] backed him. Jason Avant backed him. I think that’s part of being in an organization and on a team. I look at that as a specific incident where he was 100% wrong. Those are things that should never be said.
“I hope he learned his lesson. I think he regrets what he did that day, every single day. I see that in him. Do I regret what I did in terms of how we handled Riley? No, I don’t.”
Boykin later drew back on his claims, clarifying his initial text when approached by reporters at Steelers training camp on Sunday.
“When you’re a player, you want to be able to relate to your coach off the field,” Boykin told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “There were times he just didn’t talk to people. You would walk down the hallway, he wouldn’t say anything to you. I’m not saying he’s a racist in any way.”
