Riley Cooper Caught on Tape Fighting Eagles Teammate

Teammate scuffles are a daily occurrence at NFL practices and hardly cause for news, but when one involves Riley Cooper, the Philadelphia Eagles receiver who took a leave of absence in July after he was caught on video saying the n-word, and an Eagles player who said he had a problem with Cooper’s use of the slur, it merits attention.

Cooper and cornerback Cary Williams engaged in a brief shoving match during Thursday practice that was caught on film by CSN Philadelphia. The fight starts after Williams was draped on Cooper’s back while defending him in a one-on-one drill. Williams brought the receiver to the ground after the pass fell incomplete.

The two immediately started shoving, with Williams throwing a few punches and grabbing hold of Cooper’s facemask. Cornerback Brandon Boykin and assistant defensive backs coach Todd Lyght stepped in to break up the fight.

But Williams didn’t stop, throwing off his helmet and jawing at Cooper — throwing in some choice words for the lip-reading crowd. Michael Vick tried to calm him down, but whatever Williams said riled up Vick, and he too had to be led away from a steaming Williams.

Williams is known as a fiery player. Philly.com says he was involved in a fight with a New England Patriots receiver during a joint practice in training camp. He was also one of the most critical of Cooper following the incident in July.

Williams told USA TODAY Sports that healing the broken trust will take time because the racial slur “puts a damper to my spirits to what type of person he is. I’m more cautious now to approach him.”
At the time, Williams said he was still getting to know Cooper.

“This is hard to talk about, man. It’s tough, me being an African American and to say that hurts me,” Williams said. “It’s a derogatory word. I don’t know him. I did see the tape. It’s disheartening for a guy to say something like that.
“You’re angry. There are several other words he could have said. But he used something that was over the top.”