McCoy On Cooper: ‘He’s Looked At Differently’


LeSean McCoy says that he has forgiven Riley Cooper. But that doesn’t mean his relationship with the receiver hasn’t been altered.

“I don’t think you say things like that and think that everything will be the same,” said McCoy. “He is looked at differently. Not only just him but anybody.

“Something like that happens, it’s like, ‘Are you the same person? Is it because the cameras were off?’ There’s not a point where I’m pissed off at the person where I’ll just say something racial. It’s more anger at the person. It’s never the individual race. It is what it is. It’s football, we are here to play ball and we’re definitely going to try to move past him. But reality is reality.”

The reality for Cooper is that is has estranged himself from some of his teammates. His racial slur was caught on camera, went viral, and has infiltrated and disrupted the Eagles locker room.

“I’ve seen the video. I was definitely embarrassed. Coop was one of my good friends on this team, and I just feel like it was a matter of thinking that nobody was watching, and that’s when a person shows who they really are. That’s exactly what took place.”

Cooper was fined but not suspended by the Eagles. McCoy was asked if he would prefer that the team had a conversation with the players first before deciding on a punishment.

“Something like that you can’t control. I think in any business you have the bosses that control everything. Mr. Lurie has done a good job of handling it, Coach Kelly. As players we’re individuals so we’re going to feel our own different ways about everything, so you have to deal with it. He’s a teammate. I think the team comes before any emotions or any feelings. Team is always first. But if you ask somebody how they really feel about it, if that person is being honest with you, he would definitely be offended.

“I forgave him, yes. I forgave Riley,” said McCoy. “It’s new and hopefully it wears off but at this point, I speak for myself and other teammates, it’s definitely different.”

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