The Reason An NFL Player Got a Thank-You Note

We hear so many bad stories about athletes being jerks.  So we want to shine a little light on the GOOD stuff too . . .

MOHAMED SANU is a 27-year-old wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons.  And a letter he got from some fans last week is going viral, because they wanted to thank him for being a GOOD role model.

He was flying to New Jersey for an event at Rutgers where he went to school.  And they were sitting behind him on his flight.

Their 10-year-old son is on an elite youth hockey team, and they were on their way to Connecticut for a training event.  After the flight, they handed him a letter.  Here's part of what it said . . .

Quote, "Our son sat behind you on this flight and watched you.  He saw you studying your plays, watched you make healthy choices with your snacks, [and] watched how polite you were to everyone."

Then near the end of the letter, they told him he should be proud of the fact that he's "an inspiration to children."

Apparently he was, because he tweeted a photo of the letter on Friday and said it "put a smile on [his] face."