Chris Long is one of six Patriots players who have said they wonât be going to the White House to meet President Donald Trump. Last week, in response to an open letter from the New York Daily News, Long explained via Twitter that he had âPlanned on skipping [the White House]â ... and he didnât âneed an open letter explaining my own words to me.â
By Thursday night, Long was back on Twitter, again explaining himself to folks who took issue with his decision to pass up a trip to the White House. Hereâs how Long began: âHeard it all this week ... if you donât want to hear about some of the dumb s--t Iâve heard ... mute away, but itâs good. Rapid fire time, yeah?â
Yes!
To add to that last tweet, Longâs charity, WaterBoys, not only âprovides affected [East African] communities with clean, safe and sustainable water access,â but has a long history of supporting American troops.
Long concluded, âSo Iâve listened to it all week. And itâs sparse really. Most people arenât ridiculous (but I) thought yâall may enjoy that thread.â
For what itâs worth, both Tom Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft have no issue with players choosing to skip the White House visit.
âIt really is a great experience,â Brady told PFT recently. âPutting politics aside, it never was a political thing. At least, it never was to me. It meant you won a championship and you got to experience something cool with your team, with your teammates. Everyone has their own choice. Itâs an offseason. These days are valuable for everybody. You only get so much time with your family and friends, and if people donât want to go they donât want to go and thatâs their choice.â
And in an interview with âToday,â Kraft said, â... [E]very time weâve had the privilege of going to the White House, a dozen of our players donât go. This is the first time itâs gotten any media attention. You know, some of the players have the privilege of going in college because theyâre on national championship teams, others have family commitments. But this is America. Weâre all free to do whateverâs best for us.â
For Long -- and five of his teammates -- that means staying home.