This morning Philly sports fans should be talking about Maikel Franco and his 3-run homer that tied the game and set the table for another dramatic extra-innings win for the Phillies.
Instead we're talking about LeSean McCoy.
Still.
McCoy no longer plays here. He also no longer wants to talk about Chip Kelly and the Eagles. Too bad he didn't make that decision a few weeks ago.
That would be before he told a reporter that "you see how he (Kelly) got rid of all the good players, especially all the good black players. He got rid of them the fastest."
Of course that kind of inflammatory blew up on the Internet.
When he finally addressed the media at the start of the Birds' Organized Team Activity last week, Kelly denied the claim, saying simply that in this instance he believes McCoy is wrong, that color has nothing to do with how the Eagles go about putting together their roster.
Yesterday it was McCoy's turn again as he went to work for his new team, the Buffalo Bills. A clearly testy McCoy did not want to talk about either Kelly or the Eagles, saying he "was done talking about it."
But not without dropping a couple of hints as to how he felt about his earlier comments that suggested race plays a role in Kelly's roster decisions.
"I don't have to explain myself to no one," McCoy said. "I said what I said. It's how I felt at the time. I'm done with that.
"I don't regret nothing I say, never."
I sure do.
And by that I mean both for myself and for McCoy.
I have said and done plenty of things I wish I had not. I usually have the common sense to retreat when possible and apologize when it's needed.
McCoy lives in the bubble of an extremely talented professional athlete. He doesn't live in the same world as the rest of us.
He is paid gobs of money because he can do things most of us can't even dream about, the kind of things that have made him the all-time rushing leader in Eagles' history.
I loved Shady McCoy on the field. I cheered his incredible moves, his ability to make people miss. I will never forget how he took apart a Detroit Lions team on a snow-covered Lincoln Financial Field. It was artistry in motion.
Off the field is another matter.
That's the problem with professional athletes. That bubble they live in has a tendency to burst when they walk off the field.
Just ask Riley Cooper. Yes, he's the guy people always point at when they claim a double-standard by Kelly. He's still on the team despite a racial rant that included liberal use of the ugliest of racial slurs.
McCoy and DeSean Jackson were shown the door; Cooper got a new contract. I can't argue that something seems wrong with that.
It doesn't excuse what McCoy said. Nor his churlish attitude when confronted about it yesterday.
It doesn't matter.
Being a professional athlete, especially an extremely talented one that places you in the realm of superstar, apparently means never having to say you're sorry.
Comments