Hayes

It’s a cloudy, rainy Tuesday morning. All is pretty much quiet on the sports front. So is there any better way to start your day with the newest Marcus Haye pile of poo? This time, he’s talking the accusations of racism against Chip Kelly, and Chip’s need to respond to them. The headline, “Chip Kelly needs to address racism talk,” almost makes you think it’s something you’ll totally agree with. You won’t.

Over the past five months, an astounding amount of energy has been spent trying to disprove the observations of three Eagles who, at the risk of their own ruin, said they believe Chip Kelly has a problem with black men.

Well, I am not one to tell someone who has experienced racism when they are or aren’t experiencing it. But I will say this: LeSean McCoy did nothing “at the risk of his own ruin.” He completely lacks self-awareness and has shown that again and again. And I don’t know what astounding amount of energy Hayes is talking about. A majority of people who deny that Kelly has a problem with race simply push the allegations aside or say “Well, I don’t think he’s a racist.” Both require minimal effort.

Predictably, there was a massive rush to disprove it, and thereby make everyone’s life less prickly.

Are you guys ready? I’m gonna say something I’ve never said about something Marcus Hayes has written: This is a good point.

We naturally don’t want to believe that the people we like (or want to like) are bad people, or to an even lesser extent, we’d rather not concern ourselves with that at all. Life is easier that way. But hey, this is Marcus Hayes, so we’re gonna lose the plot at some point, right?

His responses: If they feel that way, too bad.

Not a hint of culpability. Not a whiff of empathy.

Think about that.

If the CEO of any other high-profile, billion-dollar company repeatedly was linked to racism by three former outstanding employees, all of whom risked being blackballed; and if that employer dismissed it by saying the employees were angry they were displaced; know what you would have?

Donald Trump.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE. Realistically, really, Chip Kelly is a dictator-y jerk who doesn’t have time for his players and treats them like commodities whose job is to play football and win games. Donald Trump is a misogynistic, racist, god-complex having jello ball with a tuft of dyed easter-basket grass for hair. And again, how did Boykin and McCoy – Thomas I’ll give you a bit – risk being blackballed? They were already on teams that specifically sought them out. But Hayes thinks that because it’s a running joke that Chip Kelly micro-manages the smallest details of football (even though he’s really not that nuts) that it’s “disturbing” that he won’t address this.

What is most astounding about the situation is that Kelly, who will change the team’s shoelace supplier to increase aerodynamics, will not do anything about this. Astounding, and disturbing.

If three former players told reporters that coconut water in smoothies upset their stomachs, Kelly would examine the chemical composition of coconuts from each continent.

I really doubt that, and if Hayes was just going for a zinger, he missed wide left. Kelly has shown – and I’m not saying this is what’s driving Hayes’ writing here – frequent disdain for the media and any and all of their questions. He’s probably a jerk. But that’s fine. All good football coaches are jerks. But Hayes has apparently missed any kind of analysis of Chip as a person in the time he’s been here:

It is incredible, really, that Kelly will allow this perception of him to spread – and spread it will.

Is it really incredible though? Or is it completely in line with the Chip Kelly we know. With the Chip Kelly who gives short answers (or none at all) to the simplest of questions, who was married for seven years and no one knew about it, who has laminated secrets in his hands on the sidelines at all times. It’s pretty much in-character. But the strangest point of all is some kind of Eagles-exceptionalism:

McCoy, Boykin and Thomas also are former Eagles; a status that, in the Jeffrey Lurie era, carries privilege and inclusion matched by few other franchises. Each is an excellent former Eagle; even Boykin, despite his short, three-year run. McCoy, a running back, and Thomas, a left tackle, are among the top three Eagles at their positions. Each has a birthright to be celebrated as such for the rest of their lives.

I mean, no they don’t? Eagles fans are incredibly loyal, and they remember the players who play well for them, but so does every franchise. In fact, Eagles fans may be loyal to a fault. Boykin barely played here, McCoy has the all-time rushing record here, and in a few years no one is going to remember Tra Thomas said anything at all. Even if they do, I really doubt those three give two shits about how they’re remembered by Eagles fans.

And one more point, before I end up copy-pasting-responding to all of this nonsense:

McCoy ran both the football and his mouth with little discipline. Thomas was never more than an aspiring assistant with no coaching credentials. Boykin is shorter than the cornerback template Kelly wants.

Several other players, coaches and scouts, both black and white, have been similarly dispatched. None has echoed these sentiments; not yet, anyway.

Perhaps they believe Kelly treated them fairly.

Or, perhaps they understand this sort of talk can ruin them in the NFL.

Or, without evidence that any of them felt this way at all, maybe it’s the simplest explanation: “They believe Kelly treated them fairly.” You can read Hayes’ whole screed here, or join fellow friends in the comments yelling about how terrible it is.