Long: Why I decided to support protesting teammate

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles defensive end Chris Long was signing autographs here after practice when a member of the military in attendance told him he admires his support of the national anthem demonstrations that Colin Kaepernick started last year.

“He said ‘Thank you for articulating it the way you did, because I fought for that right to protest,’” Long told the Daily News.

“That’s what makes this country so awesome, and the disagreements are what makes this country awesome, too,” he said. “I even had a cop tell me ‘Thank you’ because we’re all people before whatever our occupation is.”

It hasn’t all been love and respect. Long said he’s received some backlash — only on social media, mind you — since he put an arm around teammate Malcolm Jenkins last week during the national anthem. He said it’s been “80-20” in favor of positive comments over hateful ones.

“I’m not going to act like I’m a martyr or anything,” Long said. “Most negativity, they aren’t going to @ you, they’re not going to come up to you. It’s all anonymous. There’s backlash out there, and that’s OK, too. As long as we’re talking about it.”

Long is a pioneer. He was the first white player in the NFL to publicly and physically support the anthem protests, a method used by some black NFL players to raise awareness about racial injustice and police brutality and mass incarceration. Long has always been socially conscious, he has never been afraid to speak up for what he believes in, and the native of Charlottesville, Va., was moved to make a profound statement last week after his hometown was ravaged by racial violence.

“I would have felt really strange, morally, if I hadn’t done something,” he said. “I felt compelled to do it. Certainly I’ve always seen the need for silent protest. I’ve said numerous times, I won’t kneel but with everything that happened in my hometown, it was a tipping point for me.”

Long would never kneel for “The Star Spangled Banner” because of his extensive work with wounded warriors.

“I’m just in awe of some of those folks and the flag means a lot to them, so that’s why I don’t do it,” he said. “That’s my perspective, but everyone has a different perspective on the flag. We all come from different socio-economic backgrounds, different world views, so it means something different.”

Instead, Long embraced a protesting teammate. It was significant because Jenkins is black and Long is white. And ever since last Thursday’s anthem gesture, we’ve seen other white players follow Long’s lead.

Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr placed a hand on Khalil Mack’s shoulder as the two stood during the anthem, and Seattle center Justin Britt put a hand on Michael Bennett’s shoulders as he sat in protest.

On Monday night, 12 Cleveland Browns players took a knee, and five more, including white punter Britton Colquitt, stood near them in support in the biggest single-game anthem demonstration we’ve seen to date. Within that group, Browns TE Seth DeValve was the first white player to take a knee during the anthem.

The most NFL players to kneel or sit or raise a fist during the anthem was during Week 3 last season when 35 players joined the protest Colin Kaepernick started. There were nearly half that many taking part Monday in Cleveland, perhaps a sign of things to come, a sign that even with Kaepernick out of football, the movement he started is gaining traction and organically spreading.

Last week, Jenkins said the movement would only be galvanized if white players joined. The next day, Seattle’s Michael Bennett said the same thing. Then Long did his thing, and now more and more white players are standing up (or taking a knee), too.