31. As I watched Pittsburgh celebrate its Stanley Cup win over Nashville, I wondered how on earth the Penguins would go to the White House. While it was reported owner Ron Burkle had a falling out with the Clintons well before last November?s election, he has a long history with the family and raised millions for them. President/CEO David Morehouse began his political career as a volunteer in Bill Clinton?s 1992 campaign, joining the White House staff during Clinton?s first term. He later worked on presidential campaigns for Democratic candidates Al Gore and John Kerry. Things seemed nowhere near as noxious then as they do now in the nexus of sports and politics, but I couldn?t imagine Burkle and/or Morehouse wanting any whiff of it. Dave Molinari of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posed the question and got an answer on June 13 ? in the form of a statement. ?The Pittsburgh Penguins would never turn down a visit to the White House and, if invited, we would go as a team,? Morehouse wrote. ?We respect the office of the presidency of the United States and what it stands for. Any opposition or disagreement with a president?s policies, or agenda, can be expressed in other ways.?
I have a theory about what happened last weekend. Things exploded with Donald Trump?s ?You can?t quit, you?re fired!? disinvitation of the Golden State Warriors, and LeBron James called Trump ?a bum.? Reporters, knowing the Penguins still had the opportunity to go, asked what they were going to do. In the eyes of the organization, the position taken three months ago hadn?t changed, so out went their statement. I don?t know if it happened because it was a Sunday or if it was because they were overly focused on the American version of Hockeyville, but what the Penguins lacked was someone to say, ?Time out. Things are insane right now, and, even if we do decide to go, this is not the day. Everyone take a deep breath, let?s really think about this.? I don?t think the Penguins are evil. You can make a case that given Burkle and Morehouse?s experiences that they are honest when they say that the office of the presidency is above Trump. That said, I can only judge people how I judge myself. Last year, I refused a politician?s request for a photo during the Eastern Conference Final, because I didn?t want it used on social media or being placed in a manner that in any way gave anyone the idea I endorsed them. He said, ?Once I take the photo it is mine,? so I declined. I didn?t know his policies, but I am so distrustful of politicians that I wasn?t taking the chance. I would just say to the Penguins, think about how that photo is going to be used and ask yourself, ?Am I really comfortable with that? Will I regret having to explain it for years to come??
