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If you were at Lincoln Financial Field last night for the Eagles’ big 34-24 win that moved them to 6-1 and further solidified their legitimacy, you are probably just now shaking off that hangover after a big night. Maybe, MAYBE, you actually made it to work on time and frivolously stared at your computer screen as visions of Carson Wentz and Ben Simmons danced in your head. Either way, you probably didn’t light the world on fire at the office today. I mean, who could have possibly been productive on a day like this?

Oh. Well, then.

People always say that professional athletes aren’t like normal people, that they lead totally different lives. I guess that’s true. While I got up this morning and patted myself on the back for successfully brushing my teeth and not pissing all over the toilet after watching a football game, these three guys were on a train headed to Harrisburg on their day off to encourage criminal justice reform less than eight hours after playing a football game. Different lives indeed.

I certainly don’t fancy myself as much of a political person, but I’m going to lightly dip my toe into the waters here. Whatever your feelings about the NFL as a political forum or anthem protests, how can you not respect what guys like Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long, and Torrey Smith did today? These guys aren’t going through the motions with hollow, self-serving, look-at-me protests. They’re out there putting in the legwork, banging alarm clocks, taking 7 a.m. trains to Harrisburg as their battered bodies heal on their day off. In the case of Chris Long, he’s literally putting his money where his mouth is. “Educational equality is important,” and “Educational equality is important and so here is a season’s worth of game checks to help get it done,” are two very different things.

Now, I won’t sit here and righteously pretend that some of my feelings of admiration aren’t born from what’s happening on the field right now. I’m obviously all Eagled-up after last night—it’s hard not to be. First in the NFC East. First in the NFC. First in NFL power rankings everywhere. It’s awesome, and, certainly, a big part of the reason why I view the players in that locker room so favorably. But as I separate the players from their on-field success, it’s impossible right now not to be incredibly proud of the players representing this organization. There’s Carson Wentz making us believe in everything that is good and right in the world.

There’s every player coming from the sideline last night to show compassion and respect for Jason Peters after he sustained a devastating season-ending knee injury:

Men assuming leadership positions to serve as advocates for positive social change:

These examples stand out in a time when it has become so easy to be a cynic about professional sports and its athletes. The greed, the money, the showmanship, and the endless bad behavior that takes place away of the public eye wears me down. I’m not naive enough to believe the Eagles are immune to this, but it has become clear that there are still professional athletes to revere, that all of our heroes are not dead, and that this team has become special for far more than it is doing on the football field.