Riley Cooper's N-Word Controversy

(The Root) — The n-word just can’t stay out of the news lately. Suggested Reading Trayvon Martin and Other Black Men, Women Unjustly Killed The Most Unhinged Moments from ‘The Tyra Banks Show’ How Teyana Taylor’s Daughter Stole the Entire Show at the 2026 Actor Awards Video will return here when scrolled back into view…

(The Root) — The n-word just can’t stay out of the news lately.

Video will return here when scrolled back into view
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Earlier last month, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper was caught fighting outside a Kenny Chesney concert. On Wednesday, video surfaced of Cooper inside the same event, huffing and puffing inside, threatening to “fight every n—ger” there.

For many, this raised the obvious question: How many black people are really going to Kenny Chesney concerts?

Cooper apologized for using the slur in a series of three tweets.

But it was too late. Twitter had already gotten hold of the video and was on its way to ripping into the player with the hashtag #RileyCooperWillFight. It’s easy to threaten to beat up a bunch of black people when none are around, Cooper. Why not threaten to fight every lion at the North Pole while you’re at it?

https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/362672027003404288
https://twitter.com/ethiopianboy/status/362671325325705216

Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.

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