Brother of Eagles QB puts bounty on teammate after racial slur
PHILADELPHIA — The brother of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has put a bounty on Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper after a video surfaced of Cooper using a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert.
The video, which surfaced Wednesday, shows Cooper aggressively uttering a racial slur at a concert earlier this summer. Shortly after the video began making the rounds on social networks, Cooper apologized for the comments, which included a racially derogatory term.
“I want to apologize. I have been offensive. I have apologized to my coach, to Jeffrey Lurie, to Howie Roseman and to my teammates,” Cooper said on Twitter a few hours after the video first appeared. “I owe an apology to the fans and to this community. I am so ashamed, but there are no excuses. What I did was wrong and I will accept the consequences.”
Marcus Vick, brother of the Eagles quarterback, posted his own commentary on Twitter.
“Hey I’m putting a bounty on Riley’s head. 1k to the first Free Safety or Strong safety that light his ass up! Wake him up please....” said one of multiple tweets from Vick on the matter.
Vick also referred to Cooper as a “piece of s---.”
“Who want to play on a team with guys like that?” he asked.
Marcus Vick has in the past been confronted by Michael Vick about Twitter commentary having to do with the Eagles. The quarterback’s brother took to Twitter in November to complain about the Eagles’ offensive line. Mike Vick said at the time he had had a “long talk” with his brother about not doing anything to damage the Vick name. The football player has thus far remained quiet about his brother’s most recent outburst.
Cooper, who is entering his fourth season in the NFL, has been fined by the Eagles for his conduct.
“We are shocked and appalled by Riley Cooper’s words,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement released by the team. “This sort of behavior or attitude from anyone has no role in a civil society. He has accepted responsibility for his words and his actions. He has been fined for this incident.”
Contact Stephanie Grimes at sgrimes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @steph_grimes on Twitter.
