Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Yesterday, a video surfaced showing Cooper at a Kenny Chesney concert making several racial slurs, leading to a slew of backlash on the wide receiver. Naturally, the video was posted on the Internet, drawing reaction from Eagles' fans and teammates.
Cooper first went on the apology tour. In a series of tweets, the wide receiver attempted to make right with a long statement. He then had another apology released by the Eagles organization.
"I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself," Cooper said in a statement released by the team. "I want to apologize. I have been offensive. I have apologized to my coach, to Jeffrey Lurie, to Howie Roseman and to my teammates. I owe an apology to the fans and to this community. I am so ashamed, but there are no excuses. What I did was wrong and I will accept the consequences."
Cooper said he had never used racial slurs before and the word slipped out accidentally. He was fined by the NFL, but so far that is the only punishment the receiver has been hit with.
The video drew some reactions from Eagles' players, first by the brother of quarterback Michael Vick. Marcus Vick took to Twitter to off a $1,000 bounty on Cooper, saying he will give the money to a player to "light his a-up." He also had a few other choice words for Cooper not suitable to print. The tweets have since been taken down.
Naturally, Michael Vick had to then talk to the media to address the matter. He told CSNPhilly.com that he did not agree with his brother's remarks about Cooper. Vick said the tweets by Marcus showed another level of ignorance. He then said that he and other teammates forgive Cooper for what happened in the video.
"To address my brother's situation and what he's saying, I don't think it's really relevant," Vick said. "You can't allow yourself to be encumbered in what's going on. I don't agree with what my brother is saying. Riley is still my teammate and he just stood in front of us and apologized for what he said. Somewhere deep down you've got to find some level of respect for that. To people in the outside world who don't know how we're dealing with it, they're going to forge their own opinions, but my brother has to not show a certain level of ignorance himself."
Cooper is entering his fourth year in the NFL and is expected to move into a starting role after wide receiver Jeremy Maclin tore his ACL earlier in training camp. In his three years with the team, Cooper has 46 catches for five touchdowns.
"I'm willing to accept all consequences," Cooper said. "I know no one in Philadelphia is happy with me right now. I accept that. I hope they see the true me and accept my apology. I know it will take a while."