Last Monday, Boston Bruin’s goalie Tim Thomas caused quite a ruckus.

After winning the Stanley Cup last season, the Bruins were invited to the White House, as are all championship teams in this country.

Thomas used this opportunity to make a highly divisive political statement by not attending.  This is notable because Thomas won the Conn Smyth award (a.k.a. the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs), and he knew that his absence would be noticeable.

He stayed home, and released the following statement via his Facebook page:

“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.”

Thomas claims that his beliefs are neither about party nor politics, but that is simply untrue.

Tim Thomas is a vocal Tea Party activist, going so far as painting their logo on his goalie helmet.

His teammates claim that the locker room can become tense because of his political views and team officials begged him to reconsider his decision.

In the end, this issue might cost him his job, as he is a free agent in the summer and NHL teams might not want to take a flyer on a 38-year-old goalie who has serious locker room issues.

I believe that Thomas made a huge mistake on Monday.  He tried to make a political statement in the worst way possible.  He made two errors of judgment, by simultaneously going too far and not far enough.

The White House visit by championship teams is a tradition in this country, and Thomas made the mistake of putting the man above the office.

You should respect the office of the White House, period.  As a citizen of this country, you need to know this.  If the President asks you to come to the White House, you do it.

By disrespecting the man in the office, you insult the office as a whole.  The office of the President of the United States is above reproach, and Thomas failed to recognize this.

Thomas also hurt his message by not attending the meeting with Obama.

By simply posting his message to his Facebook page, he reached less than 10,000 people who have “liked” his page.

If he had attended the meeting, but used the opportunity to talk to the press in a more professional matter, he likely would have been reported on in a more favorable light.

His message would have been the issue, and not his disrespectful act.

The media has focused on Thomas’ absence, not the message itself.  Attending the meeting would have forced the media to pay attention to his political message, and not on his effect on the locker room.

While he was perfectly within his rights to not attend, Thomas should have thought about how the public would have seen it.

He did a disservice to not only his teammates, but also to his message by skipping the presidential meeting.