On Tuesday, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long announced he is partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia and Long’s alma mater, St. Anne’s Belfield School in Charlottesville, to provide two, seven-year scholarships to middle school students in Virginia.
Long and his wife, Megan, decided to fund the scholarship program after the deadly white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville last month.
“In August, we watched people fill our hometown streets with hatred and bigotry,” Long said in a press release. “Megan and I decided to try to combat those actions with our own positive investment in our community.”
The two scholarships will be administered by St. Anne’s Belfield to two members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia. Long, who will be funding the scholarships with his first six game checks of the NFL season, hopes that the funding will play a small part in promoting “educational equity in the community.”
Nice job, @JOEL9ONE pic.twitter.com/h7pRi5w4dJ
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 19, 2017
Long has been one of the few white NFL players who have taken a public stand against social injustices and racial inequality in the past couple of years.
Last season, after he won the Super Bowl as part of the New England Patriots, Long said that he would not be visiting the White House with his teammates because of his disapproval of President Donald Trump.
“My son grows up, and I believe the legacy of our president is going to be what it is, I don’t want him to say, ‘Hey dad, why did you go when you knew the right thing was to not go?’,” Long said in a video explaining his decision.