Columnist: Thomas should be more open to discussing political views

CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty has responded to Tim Thomas‘ latest political Facebook posting where the Bruins goalie said he stands with Catholics in the fight for religious freedom.

In the piece, Haggerty asks a pointed — and relevant — question about Thomas making these public political statements: If he’s going to keep making them, should he be more open to addressing them?

From Comcast Sports Network New England:

If he’s continuing to post such material on his Facebook page, then it appears as though he should be a little more open — a little more willing — to discuss these topics when asked to address them off the ice.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave Thomas is welcome to speak about whatever he wants through whichever lens he chooses. That’s the American way and everyone should be 100 percent behind that.

But it’s also fairly disingenuous to act surprised — or annoyed — when these same subjects keep coming up in locker room conversations before and after hockey games.

It’s a legitimate line of questioning. While in Ottawa for the All-Star Game, Thomas made it very clear all he wanted to talk about was hockey and hockey alone — when one reporter asked Thomas if he was surprised the White House snub took on a life of its own, the goalie responded with a terse “no comment.”

That’s sort of been the theme ever since. “Here to talk about hockey,” and “No need to further discuss something stated so clearly,” and “I just want to focus on the game” have been the standard-issue platitudes — Haggerty notes Thomas has even taken to cutting interviews short when the subject matter strays from hockey.

If that’s the case, there’s a good chance he’ll be cutting even more interviews in the not-too-distant future. While Thomas might not want to provide the answers, it seems reporters still have plenty of questions left to ask.