From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

Nailed to the Cross

It’s been nearly two years since Riley Cooper was nailed to the cross – metaphorically speaking.

To this day he’s scorned and vilified for uttering a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert at Lincoln Financial Field. His actions at the concert have been described as despicable, reprehensible, and heinous.

He’s routinely labeled a redneck and a racist.

I don’t know Riley Cooper. For all I know, all of those shoes could fit him perfectly. I’ve reached out to him on more than one occasion, but he’s yet to respond to me.

For purposes of this article, I also reached out to Charles Barkley, Michael Wilbon, and Stephen A. Smith. Since I’m discussing a racial issue, I was seeking fairness and balance. I even provided my email so we could communicate in private. But since I’m an Eagles Outsider, none of the aforementioned deemed me worthy of a reply. So I’ll go it alone. Stating just one man’s opinion.

Make that one white man’s opinion.

With the recent racial flap involving Shady McCoy and Chip Kelly, dozens of callers to both WIP and The Fanatic have once again dredged up the name of Riley Cooper. Those callers – along with a handful of hosts – think the Eagles should’ve dumped Riley Cooper way back when it happened. Many of them want the Eagles to cut him right now.

It’s as if cutting Riley Cooper would avenge the departures of both DeSean Jackson and Shady McCoy.

No Backstage Pass

So I decided to go back and refresh myself with the details of the original incident. I did some research, put two and two together a few times, and came up with this reasonable facsimile of what happened on that fateful night:

• Riley Cooper went to the Kenny Chesney concert with some acquaintances. He arrived early. He was drinking before and during the concert. After the concert, he wanted to go backstage and continue partying with Kenny Chesney. But he didn’t have a backstage pass. His access was thus denied by a security guard who was black.

• This irritated Riley Cooper.

• He tried a variation of the do-you-know-who-I-am game, but that didn’t work either. Which infuriated Cooper all the more.

That much of my hypothesis is supported by this comment made to Deadspin from someone who claims to have witnessed the incident.

I have no reason to doubt the credibility of that comment.

So let’s continue with my hypotheses:

• Riley Cooper caused a commotion.

• Someone unknown to Riley Cooper noticed the commotion, pulled out his or her smart phone, and recorded a video. Here’s the video.

That 10-second video is the full body of evidence that condemned Riley Cooper as a racist. Just ten seconds of finger-pointing and uttering “I will jump that fence and fight every nigger here, bro.”

Because of social media, that 10-second video had the potential to doom Riley Cooper’s future in the NFL and derail his hopes of becoming a millionaire athlete. He’s since signed a lucrative contract that incensed his critics all the more.

But as soon as the YouTube video became public, Riley Cooper acted accordingly and delivered an act of contrition. Here’s his apology.

Riley Cooper looks and sounds sincere. Maybe he was, and maybe he wasn’t. Like most people who get caught doing something, he was definitely sorry he got caught.

Now let’s go over the chronology of the incident because it’s curious:

• To begin with, the Kenny Chesney concert was held on June 8, 2013.

• But the shit – pardon my French – didn’t hit the fan until July 31 – some 53 days after the concert. The shit – pardon my French once again – didn’t hit the fan until a video surfaced on YouTube.

That delay of 53 days puzzled me at first.

And then I thought about it, did some digging, and put two and two together a few more times.

I theorized that the individual who recorded the video may, or may not, have known who Riley Cooper was at the time of the incident. But once that individual realized who he was dealing with, he started thinking that he might be able to reap a financial windfall. So he contacted Cooper via Twitter and tried to blackmail him.

Riley Cooper neither knew the individual who was trying to contact him nor knew about the existence or content of the video.

When the individual continued to contact Cooper – to the point that Cooper blocked him on Twitter – Riley Cooper informed the Eagles that something was afoul.

To support my theory, I submit this update from the Eagles back in August of 2013:

In retrospect, Riley Cooper should’ve paid off the extortionist and been done with it. He would’ve avoided the turmoil that’s endured for nearly two years and probably won’t go away as long as he remains an Eagle.

As for myself, I didn’t see anything in those ten seconds of video that was despicable, reprehensible, or heinous.

I saw a man who’d consumed some alcoholic beverages and found himself in a confrontation. I saw a man propelled by impulsive responses rather than rational thinking. I saw a man acting in the heat of passion.

I saw a man who said “I will jump that fence and fight every nigger here, bro” one time.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in such a confrontation or not. I have. And I can assure you that I never look for complimentary adjectives or flattering nouns to hurl at my adversary. I look for biting epithets.

And that’s exactly what Riley Cooper did. He wasn’t discussing Kenny Chesney’s selection of songs that night. He was threatening an ass-kicking. In situations like that, shit happens – oops, there goes that French again.

Riley Cooper uttered the racial slur once in that video. That’s the ammunition that’s fueled the racial hatred for Riley Cooper since July of 2013.

Riley Cooper broke no laws. He responded in the heat of the moment and exercised his First Amendments rights to express himself in any way he felt was fitting. If that bothers members of our suddenly-offended-about-everything generation, than I say – more French coming – tough shit to you.

Nothing offends me – and certainly not one word uttered in anger.

I try to avoid situations like that, but I can see myself responding in a similar manner. Maybe you would’ve handled the situation differently. I can’t speak for you – nor can I speak for Riley Cooper. But that’s how Riley Cooper dealt with it and it should be so much water over the dam by this point in time.

But because of that 10-second video, as long as he remains an Eagle, Riley Cooper will have a cross to bear.

In addition to being the official Eagles Outsider for BlameMyFather.com, Barry Bowe is also the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Birth of the Birds
• Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
• Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
• Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow