The moment the Philadelphia Eagles announced on Tuesday that Chip Kelly had been fired, you knew it was a matter of time before the talk of the third-year head coach being a racist resurfaced.
Appearing on Mike and Mike Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith told a classic Stephen A. Smith story about a time he was “stopped on the street” by some Eagles players who came up to him and started talking about Chip Kelly.
“They said, Stephen A., he’s a different kind of cat,” Smith recalled. “He doesn’t seem to be somebody who is comfortable with us. It is just that simple. The way he runs his shop, we’ve seen drill sergeants before, this guy is different. … This is a different type of dude. He’s not comfortable with that.”
With his emphasis of the word “us,” Smith was referring to black players.
By now we have all heard the infamous remarks LeSean McCoy made about Kelly being racist after McCoy was traded to the Bills last offseason. Since then, there have been other players who hinted that they agree with McCoy and plenty of reports about Kelly not being respected in the locker room.
It’s hard to say for sure if racism played a role in Kelly’s downfall with the Eagles, but it is very obvious that he needs to learn how to communicate with his players more effectively and respect their opinions more. The thoughts of one Eagles player after Kelly was fired say it all.
H/T The Big Lead
