John Geliebter – USA TODAY Sports
I previously made the argument for Riley Cooper’s teammates on the Philadelphia Eagles to judge his recent actions. I didn’t want him fired or fined for a sporadic word spoken under the influence of alcohol. It is impossible to tell if his heart really burned with racism, if he was too drunk, or if he was showing off after the country western concert. I wrote that his teammates should decide if Cooper should be punished for his remarks.
Tuesday, it was exactly those teammates who judged him. He was warmly greeted by team veterans DeMeco Ryans and Jason Avant after returning from sensitivity training classes. He showed his prowess on the field, and in one case, his brothers in arms on the sidelines were chanting his last name. The Eagles have seemed to decide that Cooper is forgiven and it is time to move on.
During the day of the incident, you could only find articles that support Cooper’s termination. Many of these were attempts of writers to swim in the current of their over-sensitized culture and feared the repercussions of the truth. The truth is: we cannot judge a man by an idle word, but we should judge him by his continuous actions.
Cooper is going to be a vital part of the team, as they have lost Jeremy Maclin and now Arrelious Benn. It is with great thanks that the team did not succumb to the mounting pressure of the media, fueled by the Zimmerman trial, to fire Cooper. Cooler heads prevailed this time.
