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Chris Long will again skip White House visit if Eagles win Super Bowl

Kevin Kaduk

We’re nearing the end of another professional sports season, which means title-contending athletes are again being asked whether they plan to celebrate a title with President Donald Trump at the White House.

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First up for this Super Bowl week?

Philadelphia Eagles lineman Chris Long.

“No I’m not going to the White House,” Long told a Barstool Sports podcast. “Are you kidding me?”

Seeing as how Long was a member of the New England Patriots last season, this could be the second straight year he has to make a decision.

Long skipped the Patriots visit last year after the team won Super Bowl LI.

“My son grows up, and I believe the legacy of our president is going to be what it is, I don’t want him to say, ‘Hey dad, why’d you go [to the White House] when you knew the right thing was to not go?’ ” Long said at the time.

Chris Long says he won’t visit the White House if the Eagles win the Super Bowl. (Getty Images)
Chris Long says he won’t visit the White House if the Eagles win the Super Bowl. (Getty Images)

Long has been among the most vocal players in the NFL on social matters of all stripes. He was lauded by many, including former President Barack Obama, for donating all of his 2017 game checks to fund scholarships in his hometown of Charlottesville and promoting educational equality in Philadelphia, Boston and St. Louis. And while he has stood for the national anthem himself, he showed support for teammate Malcolm Jenkins by putting an arm around him during the song before a preseason game.

He also defended Colin Kaepernick when some media organizations and meme mills tried to use Long’s game-check donations to cast the former 49ers quarterback in a bad light.

Time will tell if Long again gets the opportunity to say “thanks, but no thanks” to a White House visit. If so, he’d join Olympians like Lindsey Vonn and Adam Rippon as athletes who are skipping a 2018 visit to the People’s House.

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