Country singer Kenny Chesney is finding himself in a bit of a tough situation. A video surfaced yesterday of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper yelling a racial slur while attending the singers concert. The video quickly went viral garnering all sorts of reactions, all negative. Now, Chesney is speaking out about the incident in hopes that this video does not build a reputation for the kind of fans that he has.
Chesney spoke to ESPN's LZ Granderson saying he hopes that Cooper's words do not reflect his overall fanbase. Chesney said he was shocked when he was shown the video of Cooper. He stressed he does not condone racism or discrimination of any form. He just tries to give him fans the best performance every time he takes the stage.
"To judge an entire audience by one loud mouth isn't fair ... not to the NFL, not to the city of Philadelphia and that awesome crowd, not to my band and crew and certainly not to me, who believes music is about bringing people together for friendship and forgetting about the things in life that bring you down. The music I make is about living life, loving life and loving everybody -- no matter who they are. That's how I was raised, and what someone else does or says doesn't reflect who I am or what my fans stand for," Chesney said.
At one point during the show, Chesney invited Cooper up on stage, a courtesy he says he likes to show all local athletes while on tour. At the time, Chesney had no idea about the incident, saying he finds a lot of the NFL players some of the most inspiring people so he likes to show them off during concerts.
Cooper has since apologized for the entire video. He first released a statement on Twitter before releasing another statement through the team and then holding a press conference to clear the air even more.
"I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself," Cooper said in a statement. "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."
Just like the NFL does not want to be looped in with the Cooper remarks, Chesney is looking to avoid the same thing. Cooper is expected to be a vital part in the Eagles' offense after Jeremy Maclin tore his ACL.