Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long made headlines a couple of weeks ago when he became the “first white player” to join in the National Anthem protests begun by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has been whitelisted by the NFL. Long has been the focus of right-wing anger following his decision to skip out on visiting the White House this year even though he was a part of the 2016 Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots. He has also been doing charitable work for a while now through The Chris Long Foundation, and on Tuesday he announced a new collaboration with St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"In August, we watched people fill our hometown streets with hatred and bigotry," said Long. "Megan and I decided to try to combat those actions with our own positive investment in our community."
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"We want these scholarships to be reflective of what the 'Cville' community is really about - - supporting one another, social equality and building up those in our community who need it," said Long. "We hope our investment will change the lives of the students who receive the scholarship and in turn, those students can positively impact others."
According to numerous outlets Long donated six of his game checks, just under the eight that would account for one-half of his season salary. Long’s foundation will join St. Anne’s-Belfield School to select two students and provid them a free ride through high school. According to the release, The Long Foundation has been quietly giving out scholarships for the past six years. But after the racist riots in Charlottesville, they decide to go public with the scholarship in a show of solidarity with the tenets of social equality.