Adrian Fedkiw
Chris Long didn’t visit the White House when the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl last season and plans on skipping the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue again if the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Patriots on Sunday night.
The Eagles’ defensive end Long was a guest on the recent Pardon My Take podcast and was asked if he’d go visit this time.
“No, I’m not going to the White House. Are you kidding me?”
Long is donating all the money he’s making this season, which is just shy of $1 million, to scholarships and charities that support educational equity.
Long, of course, was extremely vocal following the protests involving white supremacists in Charlottesville. In a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 17, Long showed his support for Malcolm Jenkins and his protest against racial injustice by putting an arm around him while Jenkins raised his fist during the national anthem. This is what Long had to say to reporters about his anthem gesture at the time.
I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Why do athletes get involved in the national anthem protests?’ I’ve said before that I’ll never kneel for an anthem because the flag means something different for everybody in this country, but I support my peers. If you don’t see why you need allies for people that are fighting for equality right now, I don’t think you’ll ever see it. Malcolm is a leader and I’m here to show support as a white athlete.
Long’s actions have drawn praise from Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.
As we count down to the new year, we get to reflect and prepare for what’s ahead. For all the bad news that seemed to dominate our collective consciousness, there are countless stories from this year that remind us what’s best about America.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
More players should put their money where their mouth is like Long did.
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