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| NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell |
Last off-season, Philadelphia Eagles wide-out, Riley Cooper was at a Kenny Chesney concert and infamously uttered the word "nigger" at some black bouncers that had denied him backstage access at the concert.
The incident was caught on video (see the video below) and if that imagery had never been brought to the attention and consciousness of the American people, there is no question we would never have heard about it.
As a result of the incident, the Philadelphia Eagles "excused" (not suspended by the way) Cooper for two days from team activities and also required him to undergo counseling (please don't laugh). The video surfaced in July 2013 and by August 6, 2013, Cooper was back with the Eagles as the counseling session had obviously done its work (please don't laugh still).
Cooper went on to have a great season and was rewarded today with a five-year contract reportedly worth $25 million. Wow! Guess it pays to be a racist!
It is quite revealing what the NFL and its owners do put their emphasis on, obviously. If Cooper had done what he did in a business or other professional setting, he would have been fired and would probably have a hard time getting a job somewhere else.
That the NFL continues to reward wife beaters, drunk drivers, gun-runners, racists and other social deviants with fat contracts, while denying a homosexual (who just wants to play football) the right to earn a living, is indeed mind-boggling.
It should not matter how "good" Riley Cooper is, what should matter is his character and ability to relate both on and off-the-field with a diverse group of players and other professionals in his chosen field of work.
That video (that surfaced in July 2013) told us enough about his character or lack thereof.
What is even more insulting is the NFL now seeking to play grammar police by trying to penalize the use of the so-called "N" word on the field of play, by black players. Are you kidding me? A white person using the word "nigger" does NOT and will NEVER carry the same meaning as when it is used by a black person.
The word "nigger" has been used and still continues to be used by some whites as a term of degradation and denigration. When used by some whites, particularly in the United States, it suggests that its target is extremely unsophisticated, with the usage becoming unambiguously pejorative, as a common ethnic slur usually directed at blacks of Sub-Saharan African descent.
What blacks have however done is take away the negative and demeaning power of that word and use it as a term of endearment among themselves.
That the NFL would even attempt to do this while one of its professional teams still goes by a racial slur to native Americans, is at best "laughable".
The NFL has become a joke, particularly under Roger Goodell. Rather than focus on the continued under-representation of blacks and other minorities in the front office of its teams, as well as the general welfare of its players by guaranteeing a greater percentage of the players' contracts and their health care (during and after football), Roger Goodell and his band of marauders continually resort to incendiary diversions, aimed at taking the focus away from what actually ails the league.
The Philadelphia Eagles should be ashamed of themselves for rewarding a racist with a long-term contract and it does not matter that he (Riley Cooper) "apologized" for the incident.
What is sad is that he never paid a price for his actions and the wrong message has been sent both across the NFL and the entire nation.
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