‘Free Wawa for Agholor’: Eagles receiver’s classy response to Philly fire witness draws praise

"This response is my favorite thing to come out of Philly since Adrian woke up from the coma and told Rocky to win,” wrote New York Post writer Kristen Fleming.

Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor (right) invited viral critic Hakim Laws (left) and his family to watch the next Eagles home game.Read moreCBS3 / TIM TAI, Staff Photographer / CBS 3 / TIM TAI, Staff Photographer

by Rob Tornoe

Published Sept. 24, 2019, 8:33 a.m. ET

After an up-and-down game Sunday, wide receiver Nelson Agholor took the high road after one Eagles fan’s criticism was widely shared on social media.

Agholor took to Twitter Monday night, after TV news videos from a West Philadelphia fire scene featured witness Hakim Laws mocking the young wide receiver’s inconsistency during Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions. In a graceful comeback, Agholor invited Laws to watch the team’s next home game at Lincoln Financial Field.

“Thank you for being a hero in the community,” Agholor said, asking his Twitter followers to help put him in touch with Laws.

Following a fire in an apartment building at 52nd Street and Girard Avenue early Monday, Laws told CBS3 he helped evacuate residents until firefighters arrived. But as he told reporters at the scene what happened, Laws slipped in a dig at Agholor.

“I see a guy hanging out the window screaming that his kids were in there,” Laws said. “My man just started throwing babies out the window. We was catching them, unlike Agholor and his mishaps. I’d like to put that out there."

Agholor’s response to Laws’ criticism garnered near-universal praise from fans and media figures on social media.

“Free Wawa for Agholor too. This response is my favorite thing to come out of Philly since Adrian woke up from the coma and told Rocky to win,” wrote New York Post writer Kristen Fleming. “Shows humility and humanity,” wrote 94.1 WIP host Glen Macnow.

Washington Post political reporter Aaron Blake called Agholor’s gesture a “nice sentiment,” but noted that the wide receiver’s kindness could come back to bite him.

“[T]his is a Philly sports fan. I wouldn’t put it past him to make Agholor regret his magnanimity, even considering the circumstances,” Blake wrote on Twitter.

Among the few critics of Agholor after the gesture was WIP morning show host Angelo Cataldi, who said he thought the receiver was forced to make the gesture out of embarrassment over Laws’ viral interview, which has been viewed by millions of people.

“The last thing Hakim Laws needs is to go to an Eagles game and watch Agholor drop more footballs,” Cataldi said.