*Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly is trading away talent left and right, including a bizarre one today, dumping QB Nick Foles for the injury-prone Sam Bradford.
But it was Kelly’s decision to cut three other offensive weapons that has Stephen A. Smith making headlines yet again – this time wondering if the coach’s motivation is rooted in something beyond mere Xs and Os.
Smith can’t figure out how Kelly could get rid of DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin (all of whom happen to be African American), yet keep someone like Riley Cooper, the white wide receiver who was caught on camera using the N-word onstage at a country concert.
On Monday, Smith strongly implied that racial considerations have influenced some of Kelly’s roster moves. On Tuesday, Smith doubled down on his beliefs, while also denying that he called Kelly a racist.
Here’s the first chunk of what Smith said Tuesday, after colleague Skip Bayless suggested that running back Frank Gore’s change of heart was influenced in part by Kelly’s apparent desire not to have strong voices in the locker room.
“It lends itself towards validating what I was trying to say yesterday,” Smith said. “And I know that made a few folks uncomfortable. So be it. I stand by what I said yesterday.
“And I pointed out how DeSean Jackson is gone, LeSean McCoy is gone, Jeremy Maclin is gone, but Riley Cooper is still here. I wonder why that is? That has obviously provoked some people to sit there and say I went on the air and called Chip Kelly racist. That is a lie, that is false, that is inaccurate. But it’s not surprising, because that’s what people want to do sometimes, just because they have a problem with you because I do have the ability to make some people uncomfortable, sometimes. I must acknowledge it actually makes me smile, it doesn’t bother me one bit. I know I’m going to make people uncomfortable sometimes, sitting in this chair. Such is life.”
Smith also went on to say that former Eagles offensive lineman Tra Thomas has said on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia that some of the team’s African-American players feel like they are treated differently by Kelly, that Smith doesn’t know Kelly well enough to label him, but that: (1) the decision to get rid of Jackson, McCoy, and Maclin but to keep Cooper is confusing; and (2) Kelly needs to remove that confusion.
“I have a right to sit back and legitimately ask the question. What is your agenda? Culturally, personality-wise. You’ve got nine players from Oregon. Is it gonna be the Oregon Ducks . . . or is there something else going on? I have a right to ask that question, and I don’t care what anybody says.”
“You’ve got people in Philadelphia that literally look at Chip Kelly and say, ‘What’s up with this dude?’” Smith said. “Now, they don’t know. They ain’t calling him out. They’re not labeling him. They’re not defining him. But they are asking questions. What’s up with this dude when a DeSean Jackson, a LeSean McCoy, a Jeremy Maclin’s gone but Riley Cooper’s here. What is up with that? I’m sorry, but I have a right to ask that question.”
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