Balance of Power (Why Riley Cooper's career is over)

"I wonder if McDonald's is hiring!"

Stephen King once said, “A lot of us grow up and we grow out of the literal interpretation that we get when we’re children, but we bear the scars all our life. Whether they’re scars of beauty or scars of ugliness, it’s pretty much in the eye of the beholder.” George Eliot, the 19th century English novelist, gave it to us like this, “All meanings, we know depend on the key of interpretation.” Then Friedrich Nietzche, the famous German philosopher, stood up, tipped the ashes off of his cigar and said, “All things are subject to interpretation, whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.”

Herm Edwards, former head coach of the New York Jets, was on ESPN’s Sports Center on Friday and boyz asked him what he would do about Riley Cooper if he were the head coach in Philly. Herm kept it all the way 100 and said, “It’s not up to me do anything. The team runs the locker room! Those players will determine what happens with Riley Cooper not the coach.”

That was the realist answer that could have been given and now all of these dull radio and TV cats are trying say that what Michael Vick did was far worse than what Riley Cooper did. Here’s the answer to that playboy, it depends upon who you ask and whose interpretation of the facts carries the most power.

Did Vick do something that was heinous? Absolutely! However, if the vast majority of the duns on the team don’t see it that way because fighting dogs was a normal way of life growing up for them too, then who’s mad? See the folks that are really mad at Vick are the cats that grew up in the suburbs that are dog lovers. The people that see the dog as one of the family, that sleeps in the bed with them and kisses them on the mouth etc.

In the hood dogs are viewed differently. When I was growing up nobody’s dog lived in the house with them. They were tied to the tree out back and if they did get to come into the house they sure as heck didn’t sleep in the bed and wear clothes. See folks that are dog lovers were appalled at what Vick did and rightfully so. But here’s the problem playboy, none of those people are on the team.

Most of the cats on the team grew up like Mike did and fighting dogs was normal. So even though what he did was against the law and he’s now a convicted felon. The 70% of cats that look like him that are on that team aren’t trippin’ because they all know duns that fought dogs and have felonies or both. Now you may not agree with that but it is what it is.

The problem that Riley is having is that the 70% of duns in that locker room are black and in their minds he thinks of them as being N.....s! Regardless of what some guy on the radio or some middle aged white guy in the suburbs thinks about why Riley Cooper should still be in the locker room with his teammates instead of being in counseling. Neither of them have a vote on who's welcomed in the locker room.

I can tell you right now that Riley may as well put his resume together and start looking for a 9 to 5 because even if the Eagles cut him he won’t get picked up by any other team because the dynamics are the same in every other NFL locker room. Nobody wants to play with a guy that thinks that they are nothing but a bunch of N.....s!

Are there others in the NFL that feel the same way about black folks as Riley does? Sure there are, but as long as they don't express it boyz will never know. On some real talk, as black folks we're always wondering what our white friends or counterparts really think of us and what they say about us behind closed doors. Fortunately for those players, Riley took away all doubt so now they know.

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! If it were 1942 and Riley had said those awful things then he wouldn’t have a problem being welcomed back into the locker room because the majority of his teammates would have had the same sentiments. The problem is, it’s 2013 and the balance of power has changed in that same room. Now days you can’t be that dude and think that it’ll blow over because the judge and the jury don’t see it that way.

 Like Herm said, “The players will determine Riley’s future.” The dog lover from the suburbs doesn’t get a vote in this one! So it’s a wrap for ole Riley because like the German philosopher said earlier, “ all things are subject to interpretation, whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” Stop me when I start lyin’ playboy!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheJayGravesReport
The quote under the caption isn’t real but its REAL talk!

"What is" (Riley Cooper didn't follow the rule)

 "I'm sorry my heart spoke out loud. I've tried to keep it quiet but that oil finally let it out."

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on December 15, 1791. It insured the free exercise of religion, the right to peaceably assemble and the freedom of speech. Now what most boyz don’t realize about the freedom of speech is that when you use that freedom you’ve got to deal with the consequences that come with it, good or bad. Soren Kierkegaard, the 19th century Danish philosopher, once said, “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” Riley Cooper is a great example of that playboy.

Everybody and their momma by now knows of him calling black folks the N word at a Kenny Chesney concert last month after the video tape was released a couple of days ago. Y’all know how I do. I normally sit in the cut and listen to all of the talking heads on radio and TV try to either excuse the behavior or try to make sense of it. Either way they just make a fool out of themselves trying to. Like clockwork they run and get Jason Whitlock, who's a black sports journalist that will say whatever most racist white folks want to hear. He's always the go to guy when cats want to blame us for some foolishness that we had nothing to do with. Talk about selling your soul.

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! Whitlock isn’t the voice of black people and nor does he share the sentiments of black folks. He’s just a dude that happens to be black. He kills me always acting like he doesn't share or has never had the black experience in this country. This clown got on national radio yesterday and tried to blame Jay-Z’s use of the N word on why boyz use it. That’s called deflection 101 bruh. It's used in politics all of the time.  Blame somebody else for Riley Cooper being an idiot racist. The word of God says in Luke 6:45, “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” And it spoke loudly homeboy!

Most folks, black and white, don’t live in the world of what should be. They live in the world of what is. They're two distinct worlds that never collide playboy. When I hear these duns on the radio saying that black folks and rappers like Jay-Z use the word all the time, so that gives Riley the right to use it too, I’m blown away at the logic. I’m almost ready to jump out of the driver side window of my car at full speed into oncoming traffic.

Understand this pimpin’! I didn’t make the rules of life I just live by them. We were first brought to this country as slaves in 1550. That word was invented to instill hate and fear into black folks and it was used for hundreds of years and is still in rotation today for the same reasons. I’m not telling you what I heard I’m telling you what I know. My parents were college students in the south that had to use separate rest rooms, separate drinking fountains, sit on the back of buses in the 1950’s and were called that word by the hatred of it on a daily basis.

When I was a freshman and my older brother John was a senior at all black Gary Roosevelt high our varsity team played a road game at all white Valpo in 1981 and at the end of the 3^rd quarter they burned a 40 foot cross on us and called us every variation of the word you could think of. When I was a college student at both Purdue and Indiana Universities in the mid to late '80's boyz would spit out of car windows while using the word in all out hate as I walked to class and yes it's still happening today in this country. Riley was "that dude" when I saw the video. So when some dun gets on the radio and say that Riley made a mistake let’s move on that tells me that they just don’t care about the history of hate that blacks have endured in this country for several hundred years and what they continue to endure today.

 It's not just a word. It's been accompanied by segregation, intimidation and various forms of murder from hangings, lynchings to tarring and feathering black folks with no consequences for several hundred years. So therefore, when Cooper uses it in the context that he did, it's not a mistake playboy.

A mistake is stepping on a boyz Jordan’s at a party or knocking over some duns drink at the bar not calling black folks the N word pimp! Here’s my roof top screamer again, “Well black folks use it all of the time. So what’s up with that man? If they can use it why can’t I?” You’re absolutely right, they do use it all of the time. However, when they use it, it doesn’t have the same meaning because it doesn’t come from the same place of hate. I know that it doesn’t make sense to you but that’s the “What is” I was telling you about earlier.  Is it fair? Absolutely not, but it's what it is.

It’s like women using the B word when they’re talking to each other. They can throw that joint around all day long but if I use it, it’s a problem. You can’t try to make sense out of it. It is what it is. Jewish or gay folks can call each other slurs in normal conversation but I better not chime in and use that joint because it’s “What is” not what should be. If your brother is a screw up thief, drug addict, alcoholic.  You can talk about him ‘til the sun comes up but if somebody else says something about him you’ll be ready to fight. It’s “What is” bruh not what should be. Just because black folks use it doesn’t give a race of people that invented the word for hate, permission to use it. It doesn’t make sense but those are the rules.

Now on some real talk, Riley Cooper has the right to say whatever he wants to say. It’s a free country, locker room and 100 yards of pay dirt. However, he has to understand that boyz aren’t gonna just to let it ride. He’s as good as a marked man in the NFL now. I didn’t have to hear what both Will Allen and Barry Church, the starting safeties for the Cowboys, had to say to know that either. Boyz are talking forgiveness in the media but cats will be squaring off on that dun all season long. That’s if he lasts that long.

The Eagles are saying that they aren’t going to cut him but he’ll end up cutting himself. He’s going to drop so many balls in camp out of fear because boyz will be head hunting him every time he runs a rout. He forgot all about his quarterback has the power to freeze him out of catches too. No catches no roster spot. It's just that simple. Think about it, he barely had 20 catches all last season so he’s not important. They’ve got 4 other free agent cats in camp right now that can do what he’s capable of doing without them having to deal with the distraction. It’s simply not worth having him around because he just killed whatever team chemistry they had. The majority of his teammates are black!

Talk about opening the wrong door bruh. He dropped the N bomb talking strong about what he’d do to some black folks and 70% of his teammates and rest of the league are. That’s a problem. That’s like walking into the Apollo Theatre in Harlem with the Grand Wizard’s hat on holding a confederate flag and the joint locks behind him. “Want to get away!” Southwest Airlines won't even give that dun a ride this morning.

 Keep in mind that it’s a free country and you have the right to say whatever you want to about anybody. Just understand that most people live in the world of “What is” and not what should be. Just follow the rules of "What Is" and you'll be fine. Stop me when I start lyin'!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheJayGravesReport
The quote under the caption isn’t real but its REAL talk!