Chris Long explains decision to pass on Patriots' trip to White House
Chris Long is one of many New England Patriots players who won't be celebrating their Super Bowl title with the traditional trip to the White House.
The veteran defensive end first made his intentions known rather casually Thursday, responding to an open letter from the Chuck Modiano of The New York Daily News by saying he never intended to go.
He went into further detail in an appearance on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast on Friday.
"I'm just not doing it," Long said, according to Zack Cox of NESN. "I've got plenty of serious political reasons that probably don't belong on this show, but I'm just not doing it. America's an awesome country, man. Everybody knows that. That's why I have this choice."
As for the reaction, Long says it's been fairly mixed.
"I heard everything from 'Great job' (to) condescending 'great jobs' - like, 'Oh, I'm surprised that you're smart’ - to 'Hey, you shook my dad's hand on Veterans Day and thanked him for his service. I wish you hadn't done that,'" Long said on the podcast. "… I was like, 'Dude, did you not hear Donald Trump talking about John McCain and POWs?'"
The list of Patriots players already having confirmed that they won't make the trip to Washington also includes Martellus Bennett, Devin McCourty, Dont'a Hightower, LeGarrette Blount, and Alan Branch.
As controversial as the move from he and his teammates may be in the eyes of some, Long sees it as a fairly simple decision.
"If you really just hash it out and think in a little bit of nuance, I think you'll understand why (I'm not going)," Long said.