THE QUESTION has sat unacknowledged in the background during the back-and-forth this year over Eagles coach Chip Kelly's relationship with African-American players.
Did these qualms all start with Kelly's decision two years ago not to cut wide receiver Riley Cooper, after Cooper was caught on video cursing a security guard with the "n-word?"
If Kelly had axed Cooper then, instead of sending him away to reflect for a few days, then welcoming him back into the fold, would Kelly be perceived differently by his players? Would he be perceived differently by fans, who bring up Cooper on social media whenever a former Eagle voices criticism of Kelly and mentions race, as Brandon Boykin did this week?