NFL: Racism and Riley Cooper - Philadelphia's dilemma

Riley Cooper of the Philadelphia Eagles

Barring perhaps Robert Griffin III, nobody in the NFL had more cameras thrown in the face this August than Eagles second string wide receiver Riley Cooper.

Cooper, a 25 year old wide out from the University of Florida, caused a major stir at the beginning of August when he was caught on camera using a racist slur. Cooper was captured by a mobile phone camera directing the word ni***r towards an African American security guard at a Kenny Chesney concert.

Not surprisingly, the video went viral. In response to his new found infamy, Cooper set a new world record for quickest apology, appearing before national cameras to express his embarrassment and deep regret over the matter. The receiver also took to twitter to say:

Whether Cooper is truly sorry for his mistake or just sorry that he got caught is for individual judgement. Nevertheless, the apology seemed to work.

As punishment for the incident, Cooper was fined an undisclosed amount by the Philadelphia Eagles and was excused from team activities two days later to seek counselling. However, he was not immediately cut or even suspended by the Eagles, as many felt he should have been. Nor was he fined or suspended separately by the League, who believed that the fine imposed by the Eagles was sufficient punishment. In fact, Cooper even survived the final cuts at Eagles camp and made it to the final 53 man roster.

The backlash to this was relentless. For a lot of people, Cooper escaped with far too lenient a punishment, especially considering the subject matter.

In a country with such a violent and sensitive racial history, racism is not and cannot be tolerated. Society has evolved to accept equality and unity, and Cooper’s offence showed that he clearly has not grasped that concept. It was a mistake that many people believe is unforgiveable.

Indeed, that was the sentiment among some of Cooper’s own teammates. NFL Network’s Albert Breer reported after the event that Eagles running back LeSean McCoy” told me what hurts about Cooper’s remarks is “losing a friend.” I asked him what that meant, [he said] “I can’t respect a guy like that.”

But obviously the Eagles as a franchise didn’t feel that way. They are the forgiving franchise. The franchise of second chances.

In recent years, the Eagles have been the organization willing to forgive and allow an individual an opportunity to rebuild his character. This was the team, don’t forget, that gave quarterback Mike Vick a chance to rebuild his career after he served a 2 year prison sentence for dog fighting. They showed that same sentiment this past month by giving Cooper a spot on their team.

The move was a real PR gamble, but for a while it seemed like the Eagles got away with it. Somehow all of Cooper’s teammates appeared to either forgive him or at least move on. If the franchise was going to be able to keep Cooper around, that was requirement No. 1. There couldn’t be any friction in the dressing room, in the meeting rooms or on the practice field. And for a long time, it didn’t seem like there was any. People slowly started to lose interest in Riley Cooper, and even fan chatter died down about as well as you can expect given all the nightmarish circumstances involved.

But then a fight broke out.

At Thursday’s practice during routine one-on-one drills, Cooper and cornerback Cary Williams ended up entangled in an altercation, as reported by Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Williams and Cooper got into each other’s face and then a few players stepped in and tried to break it up. They were clenched together for several moments …Williams had to be forcibly pulled away. The fiery cornerback then walked to a separate field and strolled up and down by himself. Cooper looked visibly distraught and stayed out of one-on-one drills that involved receivers and defensive backs until DeSean Jackson came over to him…”

Now, it should be noted that fights at an NFL practice are nothing new. It is an intense, physical environment and players take pot shots and little swings at each other all the time for any number of reasons. In fact, if it was anybody but Riley Cooper getting into a fight it probably wouldn’t have even made the news cycle.

There is no guarantee that this fight occurred because of the earlier Cooper racism incident. Having said that, it isn’t that much of a stretch to think that that is exactly what it was about.

On the one hand, this isn’t the first preseason fight Williams has been in. Earlier in training camp he fought with Patriots rookie wide receiver Aaron Dobson during a joint practice between the two teams.

On the other hand, Williams was one of the few Eagles to speak out against Cooper following the publicising of his racist slur back at the beginning of August. When asked about the incident, Williams turned some heads by saying that there was an “elephant in the room”.

Cary Williams got into a fight with his team-mate Riley Cooper

Philly.com’s Jeff McLane provided more convincing details after his initial story broke. McLane reported that “Williams used a racial slur during the incident, according to an Eagle that was near the altercation. According to the player, Williams said to Cooper more than once, “I’m not a n***a you [mess] with.”

While Cooper was quick to dismiss the fight as “nothing”, Cary Williams refused to speak to the cameras after the altercation. Read into that what you will.

Philly are now in a really tough situation. As far as the organisation is concerned, the matter has been dealt with and they want nothing more than to just move on.

But it was naïve of the front office to think that this could be dealt with and brushed under the carpet so quickly. Did they really expect that all of Cooper’s teammates, black or white, could look his way ever again and just forgive and forget?

Consider the report of ESPN.com’s Ashley Fox in the first days after Cooper re-joined the team following his time away:

“After every drill Riley Cooper ran in practice Thursday, he jogged to the sideline and stood by himself. He didn’t interact with teammates. He didn’t talk. He was a man among 89 others, yet he was alone. …

No one was playing with, much less for, Cooper in practice Thursday. It’s hard to envision that changing, which is why the Eagles are going to have to cut him.”

Fox got it wrong; Cooper wasn’t cut. But besides that, the report says it all. Riley Cooper was a player who isn’t respected by his team, by his fans or by the general public. And what’s worse, he isn’t even an invaluable player. He should have been cut before training camp was over, but now that he is on the final 53 man roster, the situation is a whole lot more complicated.

Chip Kelly took a big risk keeping Cooper past final cuts. The issue was always going to be whether the cracks created by this franchise-shaking episode become wider as the season progressed. If they’d released Cooper immediately, the Eagles could have avoided that risk. Now, the cracks have begun to show before they’ve ever played a snap in the regular season.

Now the Eagles have backed themselves into a corner. Once the video and details of this fight between Cooper and Williams emerged, Chip Kelly must’ve known that the media were never going to let this thing drop. Nor, for that matter, were the fans.

Back in August, the fans were quick and brutal in their assessment of Cooper. The negativity that hovered around their chastised receiver in the immediate aftermath of the incident was palpable. And it has reared its ugly head again after details of this fight emerged, with fans taking to social media to express their outrage that the wide receiver is still playing for their team.

So the big question now is how should Chip Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman respond?

What to do with Cooper was always going to be a football decision before anything else. He was never going to be cut because he was a racist. The only evaluation that Coach Kelly and Roseman have to make is whether Riley Cooper’s usefulness is outweighed by the risk of keeping him around.

Bottom line, is he worth the distraction? NFL teams draft and put up with players that may strain the locker room all the time. However, they do it for players who are worth the risk. Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Corey Dillon. They don’t do it when the player isn’t talented enough to warrant the risk.

Last week, Cooper survived final cuts because the Eagles are desperately short at receiver. With the season ending injury to talented receiver Jeremy Maclin, the Eagles know that he might need to be kept around.

Jason Avant, the #3 option, is primarily a slot specialist and has never caught more than three touchdowns in a single season in his career. DeSean Jackson is a true #1, but he is a small target. At 6 foot 3 and 220lbs, Riley Cooper is a real red-zone presence.

So there is a need for Cooper on the Eagles roster; that much is clear. If there wasn’t he would have been out of the door weeks ago. But now Coach Kelly and Roseman have to weigh it all up. Is retaining a decent red-zone wide receiver worth the disruption and unwanted media attention that comes with having him on the roster?

It seems like a delicate situation. If Cooper stays, the squad could easily be divided and distracted by rumours of unrest all year, and it could derail their entire season. But on the other hand if they cut him now, then Jason Avant becomes a starting wide receiver. Two days before the opening game.

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

NFL.com’s Akbar Gbajabiamila wrote in August that “to dwell on Cooper’s derogatory outburst will only create bitterness, and bitterness is not what the Eagles need. They need to embrace forgiveness — because without that, there will be no team.” Unfortunately, the Eagles themselves are making us all dwell on Cooper’s outburst now. With friendships lost, segregation in the camp and fights breaking out on the field, it doesn’t seem like forgiveness is all that forthcoming in the Eagles locker room right now.

Whatever Coach Kelly and his staff decide to do, they must do something. This is a team being split apart at the seams by their internal tension, and the management needs to stop being ignorant of that fact and do something about it.

Hopefully, this is the last we will hear on the matter. Nobody likes washing their dirty linen in public, and if Chip Kelly knows what’s good for him then he will get this team together behind closed doors and diffuse this ticking time bomb before it’s too late. The united front that will be shown for the cameras for the rest of the season can’t disappear when the cameras are turned off.

How he achieves that, though, is anyone’s guess at this point.

I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I want to apologize. I have been offensive. I have apologized to my coach, Jeffrey Lurie, and

— Riley Cooper (@RileyCooper_14) July 31, 2013

Cary Williams at his locker stall: “Don’t even come by here. I’m not talking at all.”

— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 5, 2013