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Chip Kelly responds to LeSean McCoy's race comments
Since he was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Buffalo Bills, LeSean McCoy has had plenty to say about Chip Kelly, his former head coach. Most notably, in an interview with ESPN.com, McCoy basically insinuated that Kelly is racist.
"The relationship was never really great," McCoy said about Kelly to ESPN’s Mike 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."
Kelly met with the media Thursday for the first time since McCoy’s comments came out, and he addressed them head-on.
“I’ve got great respect for LeSean, however, in that situation, I think he’s wrong,” Kelly said. “We’ve put a lot of time into looking at the characters and factors that go into selection and retention of players, and color has never been one of them.”
Kelly said he hasn’t felt the need to address McCoy’s thoughts in the Eagles’ locker room and he was not hurt by the comments.
“It doesn’t hurt me. I’m not governed by the fear of what people say,” Kelly said.
Kelly said he twice reached out to McCoy, but did not get a response. He also said he attempted to get in touch with Drew Rosenhaus, McCoy’s agent. Still, he hasn’t heard from the All-Pro running back.
McCoy rushed for 1,319 yards in 2014, third-best in the league, but Kelly traded him in in March for linebacker Kiko Alonso. Kelly also infamously released wideout DeSean Jackson last offseason – but that doesn’t mean McCoy’s comments hold up.
Kelly has dramatically shaken up his roster throughout the offseason, but has brought in a significant number of black players including running back DeMarco Murray, defensive backs Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond. Additionally, Kelly signed running back Ryan Mathews and wide receiver Miles Austin, both of whom are biracial. Kelly also drafted five black players – so McCoy’s assertion doesn’t make sense.
Personnel decisions in the NFL are made for an array of reasons. In a league that is nearly 70 percent black, it would be far-fetched to intimate that race is one of them.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
