Is The Eagles' Riley Cooper a Racist? Not Really

When watching the viral video, shot in June at a Kenny Chesney concert, of white Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper dropping an n-bomb during a verbal confrontation with a black security guard, one thing jumps out at you. He says the word easily--too easily. He's said it before. No doubt about it.

Cooper, though, swears he's never said it before. Don't believe it. Barry K, 34, a source close to several Eagles players, claims Cooper is no novice at using the n-word: "Guys I know, football players, tell me he's used the word before. He'll  never admit it..Why should be? Who can prove anything anyway? It's a word white guys, particularly white guys from the South, use sometimes. They grew up using it. Cooper is from the South (Oklahoma City). It's natural to them, probably natural to him in some ways. It's part of their vocabulary."


Does Cooper using the n-word mean he's a racist? "Of course not," Barry K replies. "I use the n-word sometimes and I'm not a racist. Just last week I was driving in Chicago and this car cut in front of me and I almost had an accident. It was a black guy driving. I gave him the finger and called him the n-word. I was angry in the moment. Am I a racist because of that? No way. My best friend is black. I've used the n-word in front of him. Most white people who say they've never used the n-word are lying..And white people who have used the n-word aren't all racist."


Cooper, Barry K insists, isn't the only NFL player to use a racial slur;. "I've been around pro football players and pro football locker rooms for years. These are down 'n' dirty guys. These are tough, violent people who swear all the time.You expect them to talk like angels, like school girls? They talk street talk. Racial slurs are part of street talk. Racial slurs fly around all the time in locker rooms and on the field. There's no hatred behind this talk. It's just words..I've heard black players talk about kikes. I'm a New York Jew and it doesn't bother me. Black guys use racial slurs talking about white guys. White guys and black guys talk about beaners, referring to Latin guys. I remember once a famous white quarterback was sitting in the locker room and one of his black buddies dumped a pail of water on him. It was all in fun.The quarterback said:: 'Nigger, get your black ass out of here!' Everybody was laughing. It was just locker-room foolishness. But if somebody had a video of that, the quarterback would have been ruined forever.".

Cooper, though, dropped the n-bomb outside the locker room context and is being crucified for it. "He had a few drinks and he wasn't careful about what he was saying, "Barry K explains. "He didn't know he was being recorded. He got ambushed and he's paying the price."


Barry K explains that Cooper, though being trampled as a racist, is one of the good guys: "According to people I've talked to around the league, he's well-liked. He's decent. Everybody--blacks and whites--likes him. If he was an ass, a racist, it would be different. He'd be getting what he deserves. He doesn't deserve what he's getting."

Cooper, Barry K laments, is doomed to wear that scarlet R--for racist--forever: "He'll be haunted by this for the rest of his life. Using the n-word that one time means he'll always be the guy who hates blacks. He could join the NAACP and donate money to black causes for years and years and it still wouldn't make a difference to most people. Black fans will target him, boo him, curse him. He's permanently branded. I feel sorry for the poor guy. You couldn't pay me to be in his shoes.".