Oh boy. Back in March, media buffoon Stephen A. Smith implied that Chip Kelly is a racist because Chip Kelly cut DeSean Jackson, traded LeSean McCoy, and allowed Jeremy Maclin to leave via free agency, while keeping Riley Cooper on the roster.
Later, after former Eagles assistant coach Tra Thomas was fired, he said that players felt that there was a hint of racism within the Eagles' organization.
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Today, in an interview with ESPN's Mike Rodak, LeSean McCoy was more blunt:
You told The Philadelphia Inquirer in April that Chip doesn't "like or respect stars." What was the problem with you and Chip, and how did that relationship end?
"The relationship was never really great. 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.]"
How many other players have shared that thought with you?
"Oh, man. People have heard it. I mean ... 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."
So McCoy doesn't want to say anything negative about Kelly, except that he's a bigot.
Here are the Eagles' 2015 offseason moves:
• Black players added: 8
• Black players lost: 7
• White players added: 3
• White players lost: 4
It also also perhaps noteworthy that five of the six players the Eagles drafted in Kelly's first offseason with full control, were black.
And thus concludes my scientific analysis that Kelly is probably not a racist.
And of course, there's this:
Still, if the ridiculous perception that Kelly is racist continues to snowball, it could become a problem in the Eagles locker room.
The Eagles were contacted by PhillyVoice, but declined comment.
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