Riley Cooper Is Sorry (what he said hit the internet)

Reaction to Riley Cooper's use of the "n" word is coming in from all around the NFL. Fellow

Riley Cooper August 1

Philadelphia Eagle LeSean McCoy says he's lost a friend. "I can't respect a guy like that," McCoy told the NFL Network. McCoy's reaction came about a day after many of Cooper's teammates said they would accept his apology. "Riley is still my teammate and he just stood in front of us and apologized for what he said. Somewhere deep down you’ve got to find some level of respect for that," said QB Michael Vick.

Vick spent 18 months in a federal prison for killing dogs. He's

LeSean McCoy

the last guy who would have the gumption to criticize the judgment of others. Michael's brother, Marcus Vick's Twitter offer probably more accurately captures the feelings of the NFL players, two-thirds of whom are black.

“Hey I’m putting a bounty on Riley’s head. 1k to the first Free Safety or Strong safety that lights his a** up! Wake him up please …..” Marcus has already deleted the Tweet but one has to question how serious he was in the first place. Is $1000 a lot of money to guys who make $3-$5 million a year. In other words, whose going to get into trouble over a grand. Still, the idea that Cooper will be a marked man is not far-fetched. Two Cowboys defensive backs said Cooper will have a target on his back.

Marcus Vick

"Absolutely. I'm just going to be honest," said Will Allen. "There are going to be players in the league that definitely are going to put a target on him, said Barry Church. In case you missed it, Cooper was at a Kenny Chesney concert last June, and got into an argument with a black security guard while at the show. For some reason, Cooper decided having beef with this guy wasn't enough. He wanted to take care of every black person there. He looked right into the camera and said so.

NFL players weren't the only ones who reacted. Kenny Chesney, the man who gave the concert and one of America's leading country music performers spoke to ESPN. “I’m as shocked as

Kenny Chesney

anyone to see the video of Riley Cooper that’s started circulating on the Internet. I don’t believe in discrimination in any form, and I think using language like that is not only unacceptable, it is hateful beyond words,” said Chaney.

Cooper deserves some credit for coming out and apologizing. I've read what he had to say, and unless he's the world's greatest liar he's got me believing he's truely sorry. And there is something funny about Cooper vowing to beat up black people at a country music concert. How many fights did Cooper really think he'd have on his hands? I believe Cooper means what he says, but I'm not his problem. Cooper has at least two: the first is this happened in June and Cooper said nothing until this hit the Internet in August, suggesting he was hoping no one would find out about what he said, and second he KNEW he was being recorded and it didn't seem to phase him. And then there's that very big third problem that two Dallas Cowboys defensive backs say Cooper needs to

Barry Church

worry about; the target on the back of his jersey. Don't think for a second a black DB who has a chance to crack Cooper upside his head won't take it over concern about getting a penalty. This shouldn't be limited to black DB's either. White players in the NFL should be pissed too. Cooper has just made them all suspects. After all, everyone in Philly is saying Cooper was a good teammate, above reproach. Finding out differently is worse than being a racist upfront because people accepted him, feeling are hurt now. Thanks to Riley Cooper white players may have to start building trust all over again with black players in a league where most of the players are black and most of the managers are white.