Riley Cooper is the biggest headline dominating NFL training camp through the first week. After a video of the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver using a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert went viral, Cooper has become the hottest topic of discussion. While Philadelphia continues to figure out the best course of action to take, several players are speaking out on the topic or their lack of knowledge about it.
New England Patriots quarterback Tim Tebow is very familiar with Cooper and the type of person the wide receiver is. The two were teammates at the University of Florida and helped win the school a National Championship. Naturally, every reporter was pining to get an opinion from Tebow about the incident.
Tebow addressed the media after practice for just the third time since signing with the Patriots. He apparently has been staying away from the news, because the quarterback declined to discuss the matter.
"I haven't seen everything that's happened," Tebow said via Boston.com. "I've been pretty busy. I'm going to wait to comment until I hear what happened."
Very wise, Tebow. The quarterback has been trying to minimize his time in the papers. Coming out with a comment regarding the biggest story outside of Aaron Hernandez would not help his case. The quarterback took the same stance regarding Hernandez, opting to say very little on the matter.
Instead, Tebow decided to discuss his progress in camp, saying he is simply focused on getting better every day and praised offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The quarterback has been spending extra time with Daboll in order to improve quickly.
"He's a very bright football mind, offensive mind," Tebow said. "He's been around the game a lot, been a lot of places, really understands it well."
The first course of action Philadelphia took with Cooper was fining him for his actions after the wide receiver went on a big apology tour. Now, the team has opted to release Cooper of all team activities in order for him to seek out counseling. Many Eagles' teammates have come out and said they support Cooper and accept his apology, but at the moment his days in Philadelphia are simply numbered.
Head coach Chip Kelly admitted that the locker room was divided over the Cooper matter. The second a player becomes a distraction, they might as well start packing their bags. Cooper is expected to play a larger role in the offense this year, especially after receiver Jeremy Maclin tore his ACL early in training camp.