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LeSean McCoy says Chip Kelly got rid of 'all the black players'
Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy took his bitterness toward Chip Kelly to a new level.
The former Philadelphia Eagle has taken a few shots at his former coach Kelly this offseason, but that's nothing too new from a player traded by a team. What does break new ground is McCoy hinting that Kelly is racist.
How else would you interpret this comment from McCoy to ESPN.com's Mike Rodak?
"The relationship was never really great," McCoy said about Kelly to Rodak. "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."
To back up his point, in a follow-up question McCoy said, "Stephen A. Smith has talked about it." ESPN's Smith, always the voice of reason, also hinted Kelly is racist.
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What makes this weird is that it's not true. Maybe it's a defense mechanism for McCoy, that since there could be no possible explanation to get rid of him, Kelly must have a desire to get rid of all black players. But that doesn't hold up. Kelly signed running back DeMarco Murray, who is black, to a $42 million deal this offseason to replace McCoy. He signed cornerback Byron Maxwell, who is black, to a $63 million deal this offseason. He also signed running back Ryan Mathews, whose father is black, and cornerback Walter Thurmond, who is black. The Eagles made six draft picks last week, and the first five picks were black players. The Eagles have seven black assistant coaches.
Just because Kelly got rid of McCoy and DeSean Jackson doesn't make him racist. This is a ridiculous argument. Football decisions are made by NFL teams all the time. Some happen to involve black players getting cut or traded. Michael Vick, Jeremy Maclin, Bryce Brown, Chris Polk, Trent Cole and Bradley Fletcher are some of the other black players who have been let go or simply not re-signed recently by the Eagles, but they all can be explained by football and/or salary-cap reasons. Also, that type of turnover isn't too unusual for an NFL team.
But McCoy is obviously hurt about being traded to Buffalo, and this is an easy way to strike back. Former Eagles tackle Tra Thomas also floated this idea about Kelly. Now that the ball is rolling it's easy for McCoy to pile on, even though it's a pretty hurtful personal comment that doesn't hold up when any facts are examined.
Nevertheless, when a high-profile player like McCoy says it, it won't help Kelly's reputation. That seemed to be the point.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
