I have two thoughts about the whole Tim Thomas controversy.
1. Tim Thomas needs to shut up.
2. The media needs to shut up.
When did the Boston sports world go communist? Whatever Tim Thomas's political views may be, he has every right to voice them, just as you, I, or any other American does. That's not exactly a revelation, but the way the media is treating his stances on President Obama, Catholics, and religious freedom, it seems a lesson that needs reiterating.
Yesterday's locker room scrum with the Bruins goalie was an embarrassment. For the media, that is. If Thomas wants to post his beliefs in a public forum like Facebook, that's his right. If the media wants to ask him about it, that's their right. If Thomas wants to keep personal life away from work, well, that's his right.
Thomas saying so once should have been enough.
Instead, reporters did their best to get a rise out of Thomas, trying to unlock the mystery behind a man who ...gasp ... may have different beliefs than they do. Quelle horreur.
Facebook may be a public forum, barring privacy settings, and as the star athlete of a professional sports team, Thomas is very much a public figure. That doesn't make him a cyborg. The man is allowed to have a life, views, and beliefs just as anyone else is, and because of his notoriety, he can voice them on a bigger platform. There's nothing wrong with that.
What athletes do with their own time is up to them, despite what TMZ may say about that. If Thomas's agenda fit what 98 percent of the media believed, he'd be applauded and left alone. But how dare he think differently than them. The gall.
Thomas electing to not visit the White House was one thing, a story rightfully pursued and debated. This latest incident is something else entirely.
Politics amaze me, probably the one realm of debate we can get into which sparks pure hatred on the part of many. Some of us choose to keep our views close to the vest for that very reason. Others see a duty to push a message or agenda. Neither you, nor I should have issue with that. Making this into a bigger story than it deserves to be is ludicrous. Heads up, holier-than-thou - Tim Thomas isn't causing a distraction in the Bruins' locker room. You are.
But Tim ... just can it.
