Riley Cooper apologizes for racist comments
By Josh Sanchez
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper is looking at a much bigger role in the team’s offense in 2013 because of the training camp injury to Jeremy Maclin. Unfortunately for Cooper and the Eagles, the former Florida Gators stand out could be facing discipline following some racist comments at a Kenny Chesney concert — surprising? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.
As you would expect, there was some immediate backlash for the comments and Cooper felt the pressure to issue an apology. He did just that on Wednesday afternoon.
Cooper apologized for the comment with a statement on Twitter:
"“I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I want to apologize. I have been offensive. I have apologized to my coach, to Jeffrey Lurie, to Howie Roseman and to my teammates. I owe an apology to the fans and to this community. I am so ashamed, but there are no excuses. What I did was wrong and I will accept the consequences.”"
It’s a well crafted statement, but the damage is already done.
If he hit with a slight suspension, the team’s receiving depth takes another devastating blow. If nothing comes of this, he will still need to mend the relationships with teammates that were turned off or offended with his comments.