Introduction and Tim Thomas' Political Stunt

Meet and greet with 5 for fighten’

After the much-anticipated debut of 5 for fighten’s blog, the time is finally here. The quick introduction goes something like this: I am Junior at the University of Southern California, a Political Science major with a pre law emphasis and I was born in Los Angeles, (Yes, I do represent the Valley). As I am sure most of you are asking yourselves now “What does 5 for Fighten’ mean and why the hell is this the title of the blog?” Simply put, I have played hockey for 16 years and in hockey if you drop the gloves and get in a fight, you get a 5-minute major penalty (thus, 5 for fighten’). As I was scouring the internet, probing my friends, and even putting up a status on Facebook for blog name ideas, it seemed only fitting to have my politically charged blog have some reference to combat. Hopefully, I can charge some tempers and push some nerves in order to bring out the very best arguments, witty retorts, and tasteful insults. With that said, it seems only fitting for my first blog post to be about hockey (Ah, the wonderful game I love so much and yet no one in America really cares about!).

Last week the Boston Bruins took a trip to the White House for a celebration reception of their recent Stanley Cup victory. Usually, the team presents the President with a jersey with his name on it, everyone shakes hands, a few laughs go out, and a quick press conference wraps up the event with everyone saying “What a great honor this was!” However, Boston Bruins’ goalie, Tim Thomas, had a very different idea of what this year’s reception would be like. The MVP and Vezina winning goalie decided not to go for “political reasons.” Thomas wrote on his Facebook about his decision, saying:

“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. TT”

Thomas clearly exercised his right as an American to free speech and no one can force him to go. But what is the real impact of this? The real impact is selfishness. Thomas managed to take a once in a lifetime celebration, a chance to meet the president, a chance to celebrate on the national stage (something hockey players rarely get to do) and he sullied it because he thinks, “the Federal government has grown out of control.” What does that even mean? Is the Federal government sitting behind him while he is on the toilet? No, this was a misguided, poorly executed attempt to make a statement. Thomas took a situation where all of his teammates should be answering questions about the road to victory and what the experience meant to them, and turned it into a Where’s Waldo-esch, Tim Thomas escapade. His teammates were forced to sit at the press conference while the media peppered them on the new juicy gossip of their missing star goalie.

This is not the first incident where a professional sports player tries to make a political statement and it will not be the last. But the question is, is it the right thing to do? I don't think so. Players like Thomas need to realize the situation: it is a celebration that the White House does with EVERY winning team. Take the opportunity for what it is worth. Go, shake the president’s hand, enjoy the day, and leave your political agenda at home. Thomas made some vague statements about both parties being responsible for the state of the country and how this is not what the founding father’s wanted for the country. What does he know about the founding fathers or their intention for the country? If he had written a legitimate post about specific details about what he is unhappy with then maybe, just maybe, I would commend him. But no, he wrote some general crap that a 5^th grader learning about government could have written. The only thing to do now is wait and see if there is more to come from the political machine that is Tim Thomas. But for now, I have one thing to say to him,

Tim Thomas, GROW UP!