Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly finally responded to the comments his former running back, LeSean McCoy, made about race earlier this month. McCoy suggested that Kelly specifically got rid of good black players first, but Kelly disagreed.
Earlier this month, McCoy - who was traded to the Buffalo Bills in March for Kiko Alonso - told ESPN The Magazine that Kelly got rid of his best players to have full control of the team.
“He wants the full control. You see how fast he got rid of all the good players. Especially all the good black players,” McCoy said. “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.”
In his press conference Thursday, Kelly made his first public response to the comments. While he still has respect for McCoy, Kelly said he is wrong.
“I've got great respect for LeSean. However, in that situation, I think he's wrong,” Kelly said, reports ESPN. “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 a reporter asked if comments like McCoy’s hurt him in any way, he said no. “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,” he explained.
Kelly has only been the Eagles head coach for two full seasons and has already significantly rebuilt the team. In addition to Alonso, he’s also brought in Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Walter Thurmond and Byron Maxwell for the 2015 season.
The Bills and Eagles face each other in December.
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