Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
It was a crazy opening to the Philadelphia Eagles training camp. Let's get right to it.
Brandon Boykin Implies Chip Kelly Does Not Understand African Americans
Soon after being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, cornerback Brandon Boykin sent the following string of text messages to Derrick Gunn of CSNPhilly.com that soon had social media and the sports world buzzing:
Here's what Brandon Boykin texted me about Chip Kelly before he left for Pittsburgh quote: "the truth is chip is uncomfortable around..
— Derrick Gunn (@TheRealDGunnCSN) August 2, 2015
grown men of our culture. he cant relate, and that makes him uncomfortable, he like to be in total control of everything.
— Derrick Gunn (@TheRealDGunnCSN) August 2, 2015
players can excel when you naturally let them be who they are and in my experience that hasnt been important to him.
— Derrick Gunn (@TheRealDGunnCSN) August 2, 2015
This seemed to be just another example of a former Eagle suggesting that Chip Kelly had an issue with his African American players.
Chip Kelly Responds
Chip Kelly gave a press conference before the Eagles first practice and Boykin's comments naturally came up.
Kelly said that he did not know why this topic kept coming up after players were released or traded: "I don't know, taking to [Brandon Boykin] last night, he was stunned, he was disappointed. I think he really liked it here. He was very close with his teammates."
Kelly said he was surprised by Boykin's comments: “It did, it really [surprised me]. When he left here last night, he shook my hand and gave me a hug, he didn’t say anything."
Kelly was defiant the last time when asked about whether these comments from former players affected him. However, this time he was a little more open in discussing the impact such statements had on him: “Yeah, it does [bother me], but the reality is you have 90 guys and you’re going to have to cut down to 53 so 37 guys are going to be disappointed and I would imagine they have a different opinion than we do.”
Boykin Backpedals On Initial Comments
After Kelly's press conference, Judy Battista of NFL.com got the following clarification from Boykin:
Boykin arrives in Latrobe: Chip not a racist, he said, but he and other players wished they interacted with him more and he related to them.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) August 2, 2015
It's unclear whether Boykin was back pedaling after the reaction it caused or if he truly did not mean to imply that Kelly was a racist. While many, including yours truly, have strongly criticized the former players for taking unsubstantiated shots at Kelly, the issue keeps coming up and is becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
Or as Joe Banner said:
It may be perception or it may be real, but there is no denying any longer that there is an issue in the eagles locker room.
— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) August 2, 2015
Here's hoping that Kelly and the Eagles can put this issue behind them and focus on the start of the season.
