Despite being named Stanley Cup MVP, Thomas refused to join his team in D.C. when Obama honored the Bruins, citing political issues. In a statement posted on Facebook,
Thomas said he believes the federal government "has grown out of control" but also wrote that he blames both political parties.
Before the playoffs began, Thomas abruptly ended a media session when a question was asked about the skipping out on Obama.
Capitals fans didn't let him off the hook that easily. In honor of Thomas' White House snub, several Caps bloggers coordinated a fan effort to revisit the story and taunt him with pictures of Obama's face and posters depicting the president (some which were gigantic).
This is the first time I've seen a political form of taunt from sports fans. I know certain hooligan and ultra groups in Europe and South America have either extreme left-wing or right-wing ideologies, but I've never seen American fans overtly using politics to taunt a player or team. Is this a symptom of the polarization of today's politics? Or is it just a clever prank?
No comments:
Post a Comment