TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. January 31, 2015. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
Congratulations to Boston Bruins great Tim Thomas, one of my all-time favorites, on being inducted this week into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Thomas’ stingy goaltending was the reason the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. After the Bruins won, he refused to visit the Obama White House, turning him into a polarizing force within the organization.

This is what Thomas said he believed in:

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.

Today it’s OK for those with progressive political views to get a free pass for not meeting President Trump, for example, in what is a disgraceful double-standard in sports to be kind.

We learned this week that after Thomas’ time with the Bruins, he suffered a debilitating concussion playing for Florida that eventually forced him to retire from the game and basically go off the grid.

This week he spoke to the media for the first time in years.

“I couldn’t communicate with anybody for a few years,” Thomas said. “I didn’t call my dad. I didn’t talk to anybody. There was a time period, yeah, where I hated the game, so to speak. I didn’t sit there and [say] I hate it. My rebound effect was like, this wasn’t worth it.

“I couldn’t follow the game anymore,” Thomas said. “My brain wasn’t functioning well enough to be able to keep up with the game, so I sat out in the woods for a few years. I didn’t watch much hockey. There’s not much TV out there.”

Thank you, Tim Thomas, for what you sacrificed in bringing the Stanley Cup to Boston in 2011.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy