We knew LeSean McCoy was unhappy about being traded to Buffalo. We didn't quite understand the extent of his animosity towards Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, however. In an interview with ESPN, McCoy suggested that many of the moves made during Kelly's overhaul of the Eagles roster were racially motivated:
LeSean McCoy thinks Chip Kelly is getting rid of ‘good black players’ on purpose
LeSean McCoy doesn’t much care for his former head coach.
The relationship was never really great. I feel like I always respected him as a coach. I think that’s the way he runs his team. He wants the full control. You see how fast he got rid of all the good players. Especially all the good black players. He got rid of them the fastest. That’s the truth. There’s a reason. ... It’s hard to explain with him. But there’s a reason he got rid of all the black players -- the good ones -- like that.
So that's something. Some prominent black players have, indeed, left the roster since Kelly took over. In 2014, the Eagles released wide receiver DeSean Jackson. This year they released cornerback Cary Williams and linebacker Trent Cole, let receiver Jeremy Maclin sign elsewhere and traded McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonso.
The Eagles also brought in black players like Byron Maxwell and running back DeMarco Murray, and just signed a draft class filled predominantly with black players. Kelly also manages to piss off high-profile white players on occasion -- Evan Mathis being the most recent example. He also punted away Nick Foles, a quarterback who was very good during the 2013 season.
Kelly is a head coach in a sports league in which many of the players are black. He likely won’t last long if he does have any racial biases, especially if they are as well-known as McCoy suggests.
Oh, man. People have heard it. I mean ... Stephen A. Smith has talked about it. Other players have talked about it. But that’s one of the things where you don’t even care no more. I’m on a new team, ready to play. So it’s nothing to do with Chip. I have no hatred toward him, nothing to say negative about him. When he got [to Philadelphia], I didn’t know what to expect. When he let DeSean go last year, I was like: “C’mon. DeSean Jackson?” So it is what it is.
See More:
