No Thanks, Emperor

James Harrison, the star of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has once again refused to accompany the team when it goes to the White House as national champions. He turned down Bush as president, and he makes no exception for Obama. Harrison realizes that this trip is not a honor to the Steelers, but the misuse of the team to glorify the president. For this, the great athlete is being villified by the statists of the sports media. (Thanks to Tomás Engle)

UPDATE from Ryan:

I think it is apt for you to refer to the sports media as statists. I have come to the conclusion that the entire sports media and ESPN in particular are shills for the state. The most obvious evidence for this is the way in which they have covered the steroids scandal. Whenever the bozos in DC decide that they want to begin a public flagellation ceremony of athletes for what they have put into their bodies, the ESPN reporters trip over each other in their haste to praise our benevolent leaders for watching out “for the children.” I have never heard any sports reporter ever question whether the clowns in DC have any right to get involved in the first place.

Perhaps sports have replaced the role of religion in public life. Since Americans are far more zealous about sports than religion now, sporting venues and media have become vital to indoctrinating the masses into statism.

Finally, when you take into account the way local taxpayers always seem to foot the bill for stadia and arenas, it is clear that we have sports socialism in this country, just like the bread and circuses of old Rome. I love sports, but I think this country desperately needs separation of sports and state.

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9:46 am on May 18, 2009