Musician Kenny Chesney has spoken out to say that Eagles receiver Riley Cooper, who was filmed using a racial slur at a Chesney concert, is not representative of most of his fans.
Chesney told LZ Granderson of ESPN that Cooper doesn’t reflect the type of people who can usually be found at Chesney’s concerts.
“To judge an entire audience by one loud mouth isn’t fair . . . not to the NFL, not to the city of Philadelphia and that awesome crowd, not to my band and crew and certainly not to me, who believes music is about bringing people together for friendship and forgetting about the things in life that bring you down,” Chesney said. “The music I make is about living life, loving life and loving everybody -- no matter who they are. That’s how I was raised, and what someone else does or says doesn’t reflect who I am or what my fans stand for.”
Chesney invited Cooper on stage during the concert, but he said that was simply a courtesy he likes to show to local athletes when he’s on tour.
“I don’t know everything about every player who comes to our shows,” Chesney said. “We invite the teams in the places where we play, and I’ve found the guys from the NFL are some of the most inspiring people I meet all year. They give back to their communities, work with children, hospitals and various charities, as well as raising awesome families.”
And just as the NFL doesn’t want Cooper to overshadow all that, Chesney doesn’t want Cooper to stand as the typical Kenny Chesney fan.