January 24, 2012, Petulant Tim Thomas put himself above team column for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Petulant Thomas put himself above his team

Columns

Written by Denis Gorman

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 16:26

Months after leading the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship, Tim Thomas embarrassed the franchise by skipping a scheduled White House visit. There's no 'I' in 'team,' of course, but there is an 'I' in 'Tim.' It was supposed to be a celebratory moment for the Boston Bruins. It turned out to be pyrrhic. The Bruins, for the first time since platform shoes and bell bottom pants were en vogue, were in the White House Monday afternoon to be feted for winning the Stanley Cup by President Barack Obama. The lone exception was Tim Thomas, the man widely credited with the Bruins’ first Cup since Bobby Orr patrolled the Boston Garden blue line, who was Missing in Action. Thomas, you see, does not agree with the President’s beliefs. So like an overgrown adolescent who wants to prove a point by ruining a family outing, the goaltender petulantly made the decision to not join his teammates, coaches and executives in the East Room. According to the Bruins’ website, Marc Savard and Michael Ryder also did not make the trip. Savard suffers from severe post-concussion symptoms while Ryder plies his trade with the Dallas Stars. The rest of the athletes that won the Original Six franchise’s first Cup in 39 years were in attendance. Savard and Ryder had legitimate reasons not to be at the White House. Thomas did not. And so, on the day that the Bruins celebrated the ultimate team accomplishment, the franchise was forced into releasing a statement that distanced itself from its goaltender and his political views. “As an organization we were honored by President Obama's invitation to the White House. It was a great day and a perfect way to cap our team's achievement from last season. It was a day that none of us will soon forget. We are disappointed that Tim chose not to join us, and his views certainly do not reflect those of the Jacobs family or the Bruins organization. This will be the last public comment from the Bruins organization on this subject,” were the words attributed to Bruins President Cam Neely. Thomas attempted to defend his indefensible act. In a statement, Thomas said, “I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL. This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic.” Disgraceful. Misguided. Inexcusable. By passing on the Bruins' White House visit, the truth is that Thomas placed himself above his teammates. Disgraceful. Misguided. Inexcusable. By passing on the Bruins' White House visit, the truth is that Thomas placed himself above his teammates. Does anyone think that Daniel Paille, for example, would be allowed to skip the visit because he disagreed with President Obama’s politics? Better yet, how would Thomas react if a teammate skipped on a visit to a sitting Republican President because the teammate in question and the President’s political leanings were in conflict? The questions are irrelevant because Paille would not be permitted to separate himself from the team while the oft-loquacious Thomas would be critical of a teammate’s insolence. So why did those in positions of responsibility with the Bruins give their blessing to Thomas’ act of unfettered arrogance? “We're like a family. We have our issues. You deal with them, move on, and try and support everyone,” Chiarelli told beat reporters at the White House. “I can require someone to attend a team event. If they don't, I can suspend him. I'm not suspending Tim. Whatever his position is, it isn't reflective of the Boston Bruins nor my own. But I'm not suspending him.” In short: The Bruins are enabling Thomas’ self-aggrandizement. It should be noted that Thomas is not the first athlete to spurn a trip to the White House. James Harrison, the National Football League’s pre-eminent recidivist head-hunter, did not join his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates when they were honored for winning the Super Bowl in 2006 and 2009 by Presidents Bush and Obama, respectively. Before the second trip Harrison told a Pittsburgh television station that it was “no big deal,” he was not making the trip before expressing his dismay that the only reason the Steelers were being honored was that they had outlasted the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII. “Invite us when we don’t win the Super Bowl. So as far as I’m concerned he would have invited Arizona if they had won,” Harrison explained. “I don’t feel the need to actually go.” Several days before last September’s NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup in Richmond, Va., five drivers announced they were unable to make a trip to the White House. One driver who did make the visit was Jimmie Johnson, who explained his rationale on Twitter. “Regardless of political views, when POTUS sends an invite and wants to honor you at the White House, you accept,” tweeted Johnson. Perhaps Johnson can explain his rationale in greater detail to Thomas. That is, when the goaltender grows up. On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman

Last Updated on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 16:52

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