Michael Vick said Wednesday night that he forgave wide receiver Riley Cooper for saying the N-word during a June Kenny Chesney concert that was caught on video.
Vick made the comments after a 15-minute conversation with Cooper who apologized to the quarterback directly and then later
to the rest of his Philadelphia Eagles teammates, said USA Today.
Cooper made his controversial comments to an African-American security guard during a confrontation at the concert, according to USA Today. In a video that has gone viral after being published Wednesday on CrossingBroad.com, Cooper said, "I will jump that fence and fight every (N-word) here, bro."
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"What if your son or daughter made a mistake of this factor? How would you want people to perceive it? I've been there before,'' Vick said, according to USA Today, making reference to his 21-month sentence for his role in a dog-fighting ring.
"Him being my brother, knowing him for so long, it's hard to defend him saying that," Vick said. "At the same, time, it happened. We talked about it man to man, one on one. We just know that we have to some way move on. It's a very delicate situation. But we all understand. Somehow we all have to find a way to get past it. That's maturity in itself.''
CBS Sports said that new Eagles coach Chip Kelly gave his team five minutes to discuss the matter in hopes to diffuse the situation.
"No matter what his teammates think of him, they appear to support Cooper publicly," said Josh Katzowitz of CBS Sports. "Which probably is the first step toward the team moving on from Cooper's nasty comment."
LeSean McCoy told ESPN, though, that he will no longer have a relationship with Cooper beyond the football field.
"I forgive him. We've been friends for a long time," the running back said Thursday. "But in a situation like this, you really find out about someone. Just on a friendship level, I can't really respect someone like that."
USA Today reported defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said he will be more forgiving because Cooper faced his teammates and apologized.
"I still look at him as one of my brothers," Cox said. "He stood up like a man and we all applauded that he stood up like a man to apologize in front of everybody. Everybody makes mistakes.''
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