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Former President of the United States Barack Obama took to Twitter on Friday to tweet out some “stories from [2017] that remind us what’s best about America.” One of the stories Obama highlighted involves a current Philadelphia Eagles player: Chris Long.
Chris Long gave his paychecks from the first six games of the NFL season to fund scholarships in Charlottesville, VA. He wanted to do more, so he decided to give away an entire season’s salary. That’s a story from 2017. https://t.co/NL0RoARkan
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
It’s pretty cool to see Long’s good efforts get this kind of major recognition (Obama nearly has 100 million Twitter followers). Well-deserved.
Long sent the following response to Obama:
Honored to be mentioned, sir. And it’s been a pleasure.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) December 29, 2017
There’s no question Long has been a great signing for the Eagles. In addition to his off-field efforts, he’s also been a big contributor on game days.
Through 15 games, Long has 15 tackles, five sacks, and four forced fumbles. One of his strip-sacks came at a crucial moment to help the Eagles clinch the No. 1 seed on Christmas.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz praised Long earlier this week.
I think he's played consistent over the course of the year. He's a consistent guy. He's consistent in his preparation. He's consistent physically and does a good job in practice. He's a great role model. We talked about Derek [Barnett]. He's a great role model for a guy like Derek. He's been a big addition to not just our defensive end group and our defensive line room, but he's been a big addition to our defense. Some of the plays he's made, these forced fumbles, have really been game-changing type plays, with the Rams play and the Chargers play. They were driving the ball early in that game, and Chris not only got the sack, but was able to get that takeaway. He's got a little bit of a knack for that, and that's been a big contribution this year.