Chip Kelly Addresses LeSean McCoy’s Comments, Says He’s Not a Racist – blogged by @LoveRubyWoo

If you recall, LeSean McCoy was feeling some type of way after Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly traded him away to the Buffalo Bills back in March. He felt that the reason he got traded was the same reason the Eagles got rid of other star players such as DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Trent Cole…because of his race. 

In an interview with ESPN, McCoy had this to say about Kelly:

“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.”

While the star running back has been pretty vocal about his feelings towards his former coach, Kelly, on the other hand, has kept quiet. But at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Coach Kelly finally broke his silence on the subject and addressed McCoy’s comments: 

“I’ve got great respect for LeSean,” Kelly told reporters. “However, in that situation, I think he’s wrong. We put a lot of time looking into character and factors that go into selection and retention of players. Color’s never been one of them.”

When asked if he was affected in any way by McCoy’s comments, he said:

“It doesn’t hurt me. I’m not governed by the fear of what other people say. Events don’t elicit feelings. Beliefs elicit feeling. I understand what my beliefs are and I know how I am.”

Kelly also mentioned that he tried to reach out to McCoy a couple of times after the trade with no response. It doesn’t look like LeSean is interested in mending the relationship with his former coach any time soon. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what happens when these two run into each other again this season, with the Eagles facing off against the Bills in Week 14. I have no doubt that McCoy will be showing out on the field to remind his old team what they lost when they let him go.