LeSean McCoy Airs Out Feelings About Chip Kelly Dismissing Black Players
Stephen A. Smith took a lot of heat on ESPN’s oft-controversial First Take several weeks ago when he questioned Chip Kelly’s rationale for cutting and or trading the Philadelphia Eagles’ best players, all of whom were African-American. Smith’s point was that Riley Cooper, who had been recorded threatening to kill “every n***er in here” at a Kenny Chesney concert, was still allowed to play for the team while black players who were far superior to him in skill, were summarily dismissed.
One of those players, LeSean McCoy, seems to have some of the same questions Stephen A. does…
Via NFL
Bills running back LeSean McCoy hasn’t been shy about expressing his distaste for Chip Kelly.
After McCoy said in April that he didn’t believe his former coach “likes or respects the stars” on Philly’s roster, Shady took it a step further in an interview with ESPN The Magazine.
“The relationship was never really great,” McCoy said of Kelly. “I feel like I always respected him as a coach. I think that’s the way he runs his team. He wants the full control. You see how fast he got rid of all the good players. Especially all the good black players. He got rid of them the fastest. That’s the truth. There’s a reason. … It’s hard to explain with him. But there’s a reason he got rid of all the black players — the good ones — like that.”
The Eagles declined to comment on McCoy’s statements when reached by NFL Media.
“Oh, man. People have heard it,” said McCoy, when asked if other players shared his view on Kelly. “I mean … (ESPN’s) Stephen A. Smith has talked about it. Other players have talked about it. But that’s one of the things where you don’t even care no more. I’m on a new team, ready to play. So it’s nothing to do with Chip. I have no hatred toward him, nothing to say negative about him. When he got (to Philadelphia), I didn’t know what to expect. When he let DeSean go last year, I was like: ‘C’mon. DeSean Jackson?’ So it is what it is.”
To Chip Kelly’s credit:
While Kelly has dispatched his share of star players, he filled McCoy’s spot with both DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews before using a first-round pick on wideout Nelson Agholor [ed. note All the aforementioned players are black]. Those moves and others during Kelly’s tenure don’t exactly support McCoy’s claims.
What do you think about LeSean and Stephen A.’s questions? Are they out-of-bounds or do they raise legit concerns about potential racism on Chip Kelly’s part.
Image via AP
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