Eagles Notes: Racism is a global issue, Lurie says

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie called the allegedly racist comments attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling "completely disgusting" and "abhorrent" but said the issue is not just confined to sports.

"I don't want it to be seen as a sports issue. It's a global issue," Lurie said Monday as the Eagles built a playground at Prince Hall Elementary School in North Philadelphia. "Anybody who makes those kind of remarks about any race on the planet is just not acting in a healthy and human way."

Lurie expressed confidence that NBA commissioner Adam Silver will get to the bottom of the incident. But as a fellow sports owner, Lurie said he was appalled by what he heard.

"Not just in the sports world - there's no place for that attitude in life," Lurie said. "To me, it was just disgusting, abhorrent. What else do you want to say?"

Chip Kelly once persuaded quarterback Johnny Manziel to play for him at Oregon, but Manziel changed his mind and decided to play for Texas A&M. That did not stop Kelly's appreciation for Manziel, who won the 2012 Heisman Trophy and is a top prospect in May's draft.

"When I coached at Oregon, he was tailor-made for [Kelly's offense]," Kelly said. "Broke my heart. I love the kid. I think he's a hell of a football player."

A report Monday on theMMQB.com claimed that the Eagles are trying to move up to get Manziel, although another source in the report said "it absolutely won't happen." Kelly would not speculate on the rumor, sticking to the line that the Eagles are interested in all draft-eligible players. Manziel is expected to be drafted well before the Eagles pick at No. 22.

The draft was pushed back two weeks this year, and Kelly said the Eagles would take their time to continue evaluations. General manager Howie Roseman said the team's draft board has been set.

"Our bodies are accustomed to having the draft last week, so we're anxious to go, we're ready to go, and obviously we'll take the next week and a half, 10 days, to work on more information," Roseman said.

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