Part of the reason Redskins fans have had such emotional reactions to Chris Cooley’s release is that he’s always come across as a completely real person.
There’s no varnish to the guy. There can’t be when you run around practice in short-shorts, or pictures of your privates and a playbook end up on the internet, or you do radio interviews while getting pulled over by a cop for a traffic violation.
He’s still just as honest in his post-Redskins career.
Asked by NBC Washington’s Dan Hellie (via the Washington Post) if he’d ever play for the Cowboys, Cooley’s answer was pure Cooley.
“I don’t think so, but people do a lot of things for money,” he said.
Cooley also talked about reminiscing about the old days with owner Dan Snyder after his release, including a story about why Joe Gibbs wanted him on the roster.
“The idea that Joe Gibbs thought I was a Mormon, a good religious kid and that’s why I came here,” Cooley said.
Snyder “laughed and said Joe came into his office six months later and said, ‘He’s not a Mormon at all.’ ”
But he is engaging and bright and transparent, which more athletes should aspire to be.