Coming into the day, LeSean McCoy trade rumors were the biggest topic. That was, until, McCoy was asked what he thought about the protesting of the national anthem. From there, he went straight to what he thought about Colin Kaepernick -- without being prompted.
Here is the transcript in full:
LeSean McCoy: This is a lot going on with this whole Kaepernick situation. In this country you can believe what you want. Freedom of speech. If guys want to stand, they can stand. I think maybe they can choose a better platform to state their beliefs. One thing I learned about just here in America is that people they’re followers. There’s some that you may ask about these different topics, but they’ll say what they heard, not what actually know, even with the Kaepernick situation. It’s a lot more than just he’s not on the team because he doesn’t want to stand for the national anthem. That may have something to do with it, but I think also it has a lot to do with his play. I’m sure a lot of teams wouldn’t want him as their starting quarterback. That chaos that comes along with it, it’s a lot. As a team, trying to win and not have a distraction on the team, I just take that as a player – there’s certain players that could be on the team with big distractions, and there’s other players that it’s not good enough or not worth it. I think his situation is not good enough to have him on the team with all the attention that comes along with it. I’m sure if a guy like Brady or a guy like whoever is your favorite player – Odell Beckham or a guy like that – you’ll deal with that attention and play him. With certain guys, it’s not worth it. It’s all what you believe in. I kind of stay out of it because everybody has their own beliefs and what they believe in. It is what it is.
Question: If it’s not handled right can it be a distraction?
McCoy: I think so. You just got to look at all sides, like if I’m an owner, or the GM of a team, do I want to put him on my team? Is he good enough to be on the squad, to even deal with everything that’s going on? That’s something that I don’t really partake in.
Q: Michael Vick was a distraction too, though, coming out of what he came out of
McCoy: That’s a great example. You take a guy like Michael Vick who went through what he went through. He’s 10 times better than Kaepernick. You’ll deal with that situation, that attention, that media aspect of it. The good, the bad attention you’ll get. Compared to Kaepernick, it’s like, he’s not really that good of a player to deal with. So people outside of sports don’t really know that. They see only one side of black guy standing up for a good reason, but the NFL is against him, but I think it’s more than that. I think it has to do with some of that. But also, dealing with him with him on the team you’re trying to build together. There’s so many outsiders can mess up a team. I can see both sides, I really can. I just don’t think a guy like him – a great example you used for Michael Vick, and I was on that team, and I haven’t seen more media for a player like that ever. And we’ll deal with a guy like Michael Vick or LeBron James. You’re going to deal with them, that attention, good or bad, positive or negative, compared to a guy like Kaepernick, who’s just OK. He’s an OK player, you know? He might not make certain teams. But them guys I talked about, they’re going to make them teams. They’re going to be the star of the teams. It is what it is, man.
