Stephen A. Smith joined SportsCenter on Wednesday morning to talk about the Chip Kelly firing. Long before Smith was a loudmouth bloviator for the Worldwide Leader, he cut his teeth as a writer for the The Philadelphia Inquirer. He still has sources within some of the professional organizations, most notably the Sixers and Eagles.
That’s important to note as Smith references former players who were not happy with Chip Kelly, especially over the last year. According to Smith, a lot of it stems from the Riley Cooper incident. If you recall, Cooper was caught on video in the summer of 2013 using racial slurs at a Kenny Chesney concert: “I will fight every n*gger here.”
(WARNING: NSFW language)
Smith says that Kelly’s handling of the incident “sullied player relations.”
“This has been a disaster in the making for the last year. Yes, it emanates from the whole Riley Cooper fiasco. Yes, it emanates from how Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles chose to handle things at that time as it pertains to player relations because it sullied player relations.”
“Over the last year, there were several players, former and present, who wished for this day. They were hoping that this day would come and this day is long overdue in their eyes.”
“Somehow, someway, he [Riley Cooper] was Chip Kelly’s kind of guy. And oh, by the way, he was a great blocker. The first time in NFL history we heard that was an actual big-time criteria for a wide receiver, your ability to block.”
If you believe Smith (and his sources), Riley Cooper’s racial slurs created a schism with players, one he never recovered from.
