Richie Incognito, willingly or not, has become synonymous with meat-head bullies in the NFL. His well publicized harassment of former Miami Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin has been a prominent topic in sports media since Martin left the team in November.
This scandal became so sensational that the summer story about Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper's caught-on-tape racial outburst became a footnote in last year's chapter of sports controversy. And, of course, sports media had a pot of gold dropped upon them when Missouri Tigers defensive end Michael Sam, the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of The Year, announced he was gay, virtually assuring that major league American sports will have its first active openly gay player, in it toughest and most popular sport.
Today's retweet, from Brett DiSanto (@disanttt) ties these headlines together cleverly:
"Cast of next years Real World: Richie Incognito, Jonathan Martin, Riley Cooper, and Michael Sam. Whose not watching that?"
This has not been a proud summer for University of Florida football fans.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was cut by the New York Jets and was signed, hat in hand, to be the third string quarterback with the New England Patriots. Just two years ago he led the Denver Broncos to a first round playoff upset of the then-defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested on first degree murder charged in the shooting death of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd in June. In late July, a video surfaced of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper saying he would ho a fence and "fight every nigger" at a Kenny Chesney concert earlier this summer.
All three men played their college football at the University of Florida under two-time BCS National Championship winning Head Coach Urban Meyer (currently the Head Football Coach at Ohio State University). Today's retweet, by Joe Buck Yourself (@JoeBuckYerself) further amplifies this stain on the legacy of Florida football:
"FYI Riley Cooper, Aaron Hernandez & Tim Tebow all played together at Florida...just in case you weren't sure that Urban Meyer is the devil."
Who would have thought that, of the three, Tim Tebow would have had the NFL career to be most proud of?
For those of you who have no interest in daily sports news whatsoever
and happened across this blog from random Twitter surfing (@ech1997) or for
those of you who have been in a coma since Wednesday morning, a video of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper using a racial slur at a Kenny
Chesney concert was leaked to the media last week. Cooper used the slur reportedly after being denied backstage access by a
black security guard. Cooper, who is white, can be seen on a cell phone video saying he would
climb “over that fence and fight every nigger” at the concert.
The is not much room for a misunderstanding.
FIRE!
The video went viral almost immediately.The fallout mushroomed exponentially by the
minute. The topic became topic #1 in sports media almost immediately.
Cooper offered a very contrite apology at a press conference
on Wednesday afternoon. He was fined by the Eagles, who said they were sending
him to sensitivity counseling. The NFL announced it would take no further
action. Riley Cooper was excused from training camp to attend counseling on
Friday.
Eagles training camp has been a lonely place of late for Riley Cooper. 1
WHAT COOPER DID
There is very little that can be said in Cooper’s defense.
The word “nigger” is pervasive in the arts, pop culture, and urban vernacular.
The word is used very frequently among black people, especially young black
men. Every first-hand account and many dramatizations of an NFL locker room
that I have heard regarding the word “nigger” includes that word or a
derivative of the word (“nigga”) used frequently every day for a multitude of
purposes.
“Nigger” is used by black players as a greeting to a synonym
for “buddy” or “pal” to a replacement for the phrase “motherfucker” when
expressing displeasure with another person to its original pejorative
connotation.The word is never used in
any polite conversation, but has some positive intentions when used as well as
negative and ugly intentions. Ultimately, everyone is held accountable for what
other people hear them say.
Riley Cooper wasn’t dropping rhymes during a freestyling
session. We wasn’t high fiving someone while exclaiming, “My nigga!” He wasn’t
referring to himself. Riley Cooper was intoxicated and angry with a black man
who would not let him have his way and, in response, expressed that anger with
an expression of violence which included the word “nigger” rolling off of his
tongue the way sweat rolls off of a farm hand’s forehead in August.
His words were violent. His words were filled with vitriol.
His words were ugly. His words were offensive without mitigation.
You never know what is in someone's head or heart, but I think that his mea culpa was sincere.
WHAT COOPER DIDN’T DO
In spite of his tough talk, Riley Cooper did not hop over
any fences. He did not beat anyone up. As far as I am aware, he did not make
trouble for anyone else at the concert. He was not videoed launching into any
more any tirades. He wasn’t arrested. He wasn’t asked to leave the performance.
By all accounts, Cooper’s interactions prior to this incident with other teammates,
black or otherwise, were of the positive, bonding experiences one would expect
among professional athletes. He was as involved in the Philadelphia community
as much as any other Eagles player, as I understand. Not only does Riley Cooper have no
prior record of creating racial animosity, from was I can gather he was a good
teammate and a good representative, like most players, of the National Football
League.
WHY HE’S IN HOT WATER
If not for modern technology, there would be no story.
However, the Internet has been available to consumers for 20 years. Video
cameras have been ubiquitous in cell phones for at least the last five years.
The majority of American adults have Facebook accounts. There are close to a
billion Twitter users in the world.
If you are a public figure, it should come as no surprise
that you are not only being observed by someone every minute of every second of
every day, but there is a high probability that you are being documented,
including by use of audio/video media. Riley Cooper has walked into a room
hundreds of times, going back to when he was playing football at the University
of Florida, and people in the room have known who he was and that he was there.
This is not new to Cooper.
In spite of the aforementioned, Cooper neglected to exhibit
self-control. He was angry. He verbally lashed out in the most malicious and
incendiary manner possible, targeting race. He isn't a victim and, having seen
the video, I cannot even give him the benefit of the doubt of suggesting that
he let out a Freudian slip. This is not lost on his teammates.
Simply put: Riley Cooper allowed the world to see his verbal
interactions with another human being, using an entire race of people to single
that person out, in one of the worst manners imaginable. He did nothing to
distance himself from his vulgar and hurtful behavior until after he was
caught, not even the cat-ate-the-canary look that people have when they
realize, right away, they say something they immediately regret.
Nobody wants to be tied to bigotry. Nobody in their right mind would want to be associated with hatred towards black people in an occupation in which 70% of his peers are black and that job legally encourages opponents to hit you as hard as possible. 2
THE TEAM IMPACT
We've all done stupid things. We've all said things that we
profoundly regret. We all have biases, good, bad, or otherwise, based on
ethnicity, gender, appearance, and mannerisms. We all have to own them and be
accountable for those things.
Unfortunately for Riley Cooper and the Eagles, Cooper opened
the door of race in America when he reached a behavioral nadir at the concert.
He was seen doing it on video. His anger triggered unvarnished racial hostility
for the world to see. It isn't like farting in church.
Quarterback Michael Vick, a 33-year-old, 11 year NFL veteran
who is black, attempted to mitigate the fallout and stand up for Cooper. It is
what a team leader is supposed to do. Vick said he knew the kind of man Cooper
is, the “real” Riley Cooper, and that he forgave him. He said the team was
ready to move forward. A day later, Vick said he tried, but that internal
tension wasn't simmering down.
Running back LeSean McCoy gave a very measured, reasonable,
cool-headed opinion in which he said that they will work with him and aid
Cooper as a teammate, but his friendship and respect for Cooper has changed for
the worse. Multiple reports surfaced saying that Cooper was excused, asked
to leave training camp on Friday to attend counseling due to the tension that situation caused.
Cooper is lucky that he has talent. Like other talented people in our society, his talent is buying him some currency. If Cooper were a fourth or fifth receiver with limited special teams value battling a rookie out for a low roster spot, he would be cut. But the Eagles need Cooper. In light of Jeremy Maclin's season ending knee injury, Cooper was/is expected to be in the starting lineup this season.
On the field, his team needs him. For that reason, he will probably have an opportunity to redeem himself among his Eagles colleagues. That is fortunate because, in light of this flap, no other team would invite Cooper and his inevitable attached distractions into camp.
He is...the most OSTRACIZED EAGLE in the WORLD! 3
SOCIETAL IMPACT
This is yet another high profile incident in American current events in which race is key issue; in this case it is the central issue. The Riley Cooper situation has awaken discussion about the word, "nigger," and the perspectives on race, racism, and race relations. From my vantage point, I have heard the same old stale talking points from all points of view.
What is inescapable, however, is the Riley Cooper allowed the world to see how he behaved in a contentious situation with a black man when (I sincerely hope) he thought nobody was watching. His black teammates have every right to ask, "What does he think about me? What does he think about my family? What does he think about my friends and people who look like me?". His other teammates have a right to ask similar questions, such as, "How would he treat me if I looked different...didn't look more like him?" Football fans, writers, and stakeholders have the right to ask the same.
The supply on the Internet seems almost infinite. 5
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