Yes, I know that as a Canuck fan I'm supposed to hate everything about the Boston Bruins.
But I'm sorry - I am siding with Tim Thomas and his decision to decline an invitation to the Obama White House.
"I believe the federal government has grown out of control, threatening the rights, liberties, and property of the people," Thomas wrote in a statement.
"Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a free citizen, and did not visit the White House."
The easy thing for Thomas to do would have been to go along with the crowd. Instead the 37-year-old goaltender exhibited qualities that mark him as an independent thinker. He went against the grain, standing up for his convictions, even at the risk of being labelled a "bad teammate" or "un-American." He's not the first athlete to do so.
The National Post recently listed several other examples of sports personalities using their star power to bring attention to a cause.
Muhammad Ali was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War who looked his nation square in the eye and said, "I ain't got no quarrel with the Viet Cong," and was convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his boxing title.
U.S. track stars John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists in a black power salute on the medal podium at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City to make a point about the struggles of black life in America.
In 2004, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Carlos Delgado declined to stand for the playing of God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch as a silent protest against the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
And what about in 1943, when despite resistance from many in his own organization, Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson, the first black player in Major League Baseball?
Should Rickey have been a "team player" and went along with the position of the day which excluded 'blacks' from the game?
Like Ali, Rickey, and millions of Americans who have, throughout history, protested against the status quo, Thomas is standing up for what he believes in.
Whether we agree with Thomas' views or not, we cannot disagree with his right to protest.
