Tim Thomas sure found a way to push everyone’s buttons yesterday, but standing up for himself and what he believes in is nothing new.
Thomas deciding not to join the rest of his Bruins teammates at the White House for the team’s visit with President Barack Obama turned out to be Thomas’ way of protesting against the government.
As Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com shared in his must-read column on Thomas, however, doing things his own way is the way Thomas has always done things in his career.He’s often looked at as a “Lone Wolf” that doesn’t have very much in common with his teammates. Thomas often goes his own way throughout the season, but that’s not unusual for a goaltender. It’s also not to indict him as a divisive influence or a problem because he’s neither of those things.
With that aside, Haggerty says Thomas could’ve used a bit more tact this time around.
But here’s one suggestion: why not announce Thomas’ intentions prior to the visit in order to defuse the situation and take the heat out of it on Monday afternoon. Thomas is wonderful at stopping pucks in tense situations and he’s one of the most humble athletes you’ll ever come across.
But he’s not a brilliant PR strategist and there seems to have been no notion of getting out ahead of the train wreck that steamed into the East Wing of the White House Monday afternoon.Whether you’re in agreement with Thomas’ stand here or not, he’s well within his rights and reasons for not wanting to meet the President, but if nothing else, he sure could’ve used a little coaching on this one. How Thomas handles the press this weekend in Ottawa at the All-Star Game could prove to be another circus of its own.