A surprisingly active topic of discussion has been Tim Thomas's decision to skip the Bruins' White House trip as Stanley Cup champions.
My first thought about this was, who freaking cares? On second thought, I think Tim Thomas is making a mistake, but not for the reasons you think.
Tim Thomas's decision to skip the White House visit is NOT racist, disrespectful to the President, unpatriotic, or the actions of an ignorant conservative. Any accusations that he is somehow motivated out by irrational malice towards Obama are completely unfounded. Second, if he doesn't want to go, that's his prerogative. James Harrison has twice decided to skip White House visits (under both Bush and Obama), probably for the dumbest reason I've ever read, but it's no skin off my back.
I think Thomas's decision is a mistake simply because he is putting himself before the team. He is choosing to politically grandstand rather than be with his teammates. It makes no difference what viewpoint he is expressing, I just don't like players choosing make political speech over their teammates.
I think this story will blow over very quickly for the press and the Bruins, but there it is.
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