On Tuesday’s “The Herd” on ESPNU, host Colin Cowherd responded to Stephen A. Smith’s suggestion on Monday that the Philadelphia Eagles were making moves that were racially charged.
Cowherd stated that he believes that these moves are not racially charged, but he does believe thinking that these moves are racially charged stem from the racial oppression that has gone on in the United States.
“First of all, Chip Kelly at Oregon brought John Carlos to speak to his team while at Oregon. You know, Black Power Movement. Olympics. I don’t think a racist would do that. Chip Kelly, when he was in college, told any coach that would listen, ‘I’m going to go to the NFL. I’m going to spend my money on defense. I’m not going to spend my money on quarterbacks. I’m not going to spend my money on running backs. I’m not going to spend my money on wide receivers. Why? I can make anybody a star there.’
“Chip Kelly is like Bill Belichick,” he added. “He has such a strong belief in his system, that players outside of Tom Brady are almost incidental. An inventor has such a strong belief in the device he invents. Employees working on the device are replaceable. It’s the device. Why wouldn’t Chip Kelly think that?”
Later, a caller on the show said that most of the racism he sees now is from people finding racism in things that don’t exist.
Cowherd responded by saying, “Racism is here and it’s never going to leave, but so is stupidity, but that doesn’t mean everybody is stupid. Not everybody is racist, though there’s racism everywhere. Not everybody is stupid though there is stupidity everywhere. This is not a racist move. This is a move based on system. That doesn’t mean there’s not all sorts of racism. Nobody is disputing that.”
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He continued, “There may be some in the NFL. There may be some in the NBA. I know there’s some in baseball. I know, look at how some players in hockey have been treated by Bruin fans. That was outrageous. We saw the Oklahoma frat. Racism is all over the place but that doesn’t mean every move that a black employee cuts cut is racism.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent