Riley Cooper made a huge mistake. He knows it, we know it , the entire nation knows it. He regrets it, we regret it, the entire nation regrets it. But he did it. He uttered a racial slur. He spoke the infamous and unspeakable "N" word. That just can't be done in today's society. As a country, we're supposed to have progressed beyond such things racially, whether in actuality we have or not. Nevertheless Cooper said that word, and as we all know, once something is out of the mouth, it can't be crammed back in. Now that we have established the guilt of Riley Cooper, let's talk about the punishment. He didn't sell any drugs, nor take any banned substances. He committed no crime, nor physical harm to anyone. Thus, no one is dealing with a crime scene or murder investigation. No pornography and no sexual abuse or misconduct is Cooper guilty of. There are no robbery, nor any other felony or even misdemeanor charges. So why is Riley Cooper being treated like the lowest form of human life on the planet? He opened his mouth and said the wrong thing, but this week he opened his mouth and tried to say all the right things. He apologized. He is genuinely sorry. He is sick to his stomach at himself. Why can't we forgive the guy? Why can't we accept his apology? Why can't society let him get on with his life as a professional football player? He made a mistake and he is in the midst of suffering the consequences of that mistake. I'm not condoning his slur, but neither am I condoning the relentless punishment. His punishment is bordering on exceeding the crime. I don't believe Riley Cooper is such a bad person, and his own teammates have said as much. Let's forgive the guy and allow him to show us what a good guy he really is.
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