Kenny Chesney Condemns Riley Cooper's Racial Slur, Calls Behavior at Concert 'Hateful Beyond Words'

kenny chesney Since video surfaced Wednesday of Riley Cooper shouting a racial slur at a concert security guard, reaction toward the Eagles wide receiver has been split.

While most people have said Cooper’s words were despicable, some have called the epithet a regrettable mistake by an otherwise good guy. Others have branded Cooper as an outright racist.

On Thursday, Kenny Chesney, whose concert Cooper was attending, weighed in on the incident in an interview with ESPN’s LZ Granderson. The country star condemned the wideout’s words, insisting that his actions were representative of neither the NFL as a whole nor the crowd at his Philadelphia show.

“I’m as shocked as anyone to see the video of Riley Cooper that’s started circulating on the Internet,” Chesney said. “I don’t believe in discrimination in any form, and I think using language like that is not only unacceptable, it is hateful beyond words.

“I don’t know everything about every player who comes to our shows. 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.

“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. 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.”

Cooper apologized Wednesday for his phrasing, and the Eagles have fined him an undisclosed amount.

Photo via Facebook/Kenny Chesney