Like many of his fellow Patriots, defensive end Chris Long won't be making a trip to Donald Trump's White House when the Super Bowl Champions visit this year.
And as edgy political statements in sports often do, Long's decision evoked plenty of backlash online, with Twitter users criticizing everything from his tolerance to his supposed "hatred" of white people.
SEE ALSO:Turns out there is hope for true love, and it's from Twitter
Long had enough Thursday night, first responding to an individual Tweet.
Sorry dude. I appreciate your support of me as a football player, but I just don't get this tweet. https://t.co/TfmK7hbEmY
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
He then unleashed a flood of tweets, each one targeting a specific critique he endured this past week.
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Heard it all this week...if you don't want to hear about some of the dumb shit I've heard...mute away, but it's good. Rapid fire time, yeah?
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
Brace yourselves. This is a Twitter rebuttal as true as they come.
"Respect the office" Ok birther theory guy
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"Stick to football" you don't look like a state senator yourself there bud.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"I hope they cut you" I'm a free agent.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"stop being self important. I'm no longer a fan" I'm self important but you thought this was important enough to bring to my attention, eh?
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"You just wanna be a cool lib" Actually I'm well aware the minute I believe something they don't, libs will hit me w this GIF pic.twitter.com/yvc9iBskvm
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"You just wanna be a cool lib" As a football player, liberals thought I was a living, breathing piece of steak before I agreed with them.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"You hate the troops" The secondary focus of my foundation (out of two causes) is veteran support. Do your research. Also, not relatable.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"You hate white people" Oh yeah, for sure. I despise them but I named my son (who is white) after an outlaw country singer.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"Stop believing the media." Dude I just saw you retweet Fox News.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
"You should go talk to trump if you want change" I'm skipping a photo op, not a congressional hearing.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
So I've listened to it all week. And it's sparse really. Most people aren't ridiculous. Thought y'all may enjoy that thread.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 17, 2017
This is not just a Twitter rant. Long makes some pretty valid points, not only about the nature of his team's White House visit, but also on the state of Internet trolling as a whole.
Tweeting at a public figure is easy to do when they don't tweet back. There's a sense of invisibility behind keyboards and smartphone screens, which encourages a lot of the Twitter bashing that's become so accepted.
But as we learned this week, big things happen when that public figure tweets back.
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