Riley Cooper is supposed to replace the injured Jeremy Maclin as the Eagles No. 2 wide receiver. And maybe he still will, but not until Cooper removes his foot from his mouth and several of his teammates’ feet from another part of his anatomy.
Cooper, who played his college football at Florida, caused an Internet sensation when video surfaced Wednesday of him making a racial slur during a Kenny Chesney concert last month at Lincoln Financial Field.
Talking directly into a camera, Cooper vowed to “fight every n—– here.”
It didn’t take long for the 25-year-old to apologize once the video hit the web and everything else hit the fan.
After releasing a statement through the team, Cooper met with reporters after practice.
“This is the lowest of lows,” he said. “This is not the type of person I want to be portrayed as. This isn’t the type of person I am. I’m extremely sorry.”
Cooper said he was drinking when he directed the slur at an African-American security guard.
“That’s no excuse for what I said. I don’t use that term,” he said. “I was raised better than that. I have a great mom and dad and they’re disgusted with my actions.”
A fifth-round draft pick of the Eagles in 2010, the team expects Cooper to help fill the void created by the absence of Maclin who tore his right ACL on Friday and will miss the entire season.
“I’m willing to accept all consequences,” said Cooper who was fined by the team. “I know no one in Philadelphia is happy with me right now. I accept that.”
Cooper apologized to teammates after talking to the media.
“We all make mistakes in life and we all do and say things that maybe we do mean and maybe we don’t mean,” quarterback Michael Vick said. “But as a teammate I forgave him.”
Vick also rebuked his brother, Marcus Vick, for profanity-laced tweets, including one offering a $1,000 bounty for any player who lays Cooper out in a game. Marcus Vick later deleted all the tweets.