Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Matt Birk is pro-life — so when it came time for the Ravens to visit President Barack Obama for the annual congratulations to the Super Bowl winners, he decided not to go.
The pro-life NFL player explained his decision:
“I wasn’t there,” Birk told The Power Trip. “I would say this, I would say that I have great respect for the office of the Presidency but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, ‘God bless Planned Parenthood.’”
Birk, who also took a public stance during the recent gay rights movements that swung through our country last year, is a very open and public Catholic and claims that he took offense to these comments that were made by President Obama. So much so, that he declined a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and be honored by the President at the White House.There are a lot of things that I like about this story, the moral tone, the standing up for what you believe in, etc. What I like best though is the way Mr. Birk handled himself.
Mr. Birk didn't grandstand.
Mr. Birk didn't use the limelight to act out.
Mr. Birk didn't go and misuse the occasion to prove a point.
Mr. Birk didn't call a news conference.
Mr. Birk didn't try to raise awareness for his cause.
What Mr. Birk did do was make a decision about who he would hang out with. He made that decision based on his values and then he acted accordingly. When he made that decision I doubt that he gave any thought to it becoming a minor news story. He knew where he stood and he decided to stand there, no more, no less and no spot light needed.
"Mr. Birk didn't grandstand.
ReplyDeleteMr. Birk didn't use the limelight to act out.
Mr. Birk didn't go and misuse the occasion to prove a point.
Mr. Birk didn't call a news conference.
Mr. Birk didn't try to raise awareness for his cause."
I understand your points, but would also raise these additional points:
Is the owner or any of the front-office staff of the team for whom Mr. Birk plays pro-abortion?
Are any of the coaches to whom Mr. Birk listens pro-abortion?
Are any of the other players with whom Mr. Birk plays each Sunday pro-abortion?
Most assuredly, thousands of the fans who pack the stadium each Sunday to watch Mr. Birk play are not only pro-abortion, but many have even had one (or more) themselves.
Mr. Birk will not stop playing football for this team despite all of these people, with whom he associates daily, being pro-abortion. The idea that he doesn't want to hang out with a pro-abortion president is therefore contradictory.
He won't stop playing with and for these associates because that is his livelihood. Not going to meet the President costs him nothing, so this strikes me as nothing but grandstanding; if he actually had the strength of his convictions, he would quit.
And he knows the media will cover this action; the words he spoke in your linked article belie your points above:
"“I don’t think I’m a superstar by any means,” Birk said, “but I’m glad (for) the platform that football allows me. I’m glad to use it to support causes that I passionately believe in and this is one of them."
That's fine, I applaud that he speaks out for his beliefs and I don't fault him for that any more than I fault Tim Tebow for using his platform to promote Christianity. But let's not turn him into some kind of hero for not going to the White House.
If I understand the story Mr. Birk retired at the end of the season. He was done. There was nothing more for him in football. The Whitehouse trip was in a sense his last big deal in his career.
ReplyDeleteHe chose not to go, and nothing more would have been said about it if a reporter hadn't dug up the story.
Obama has always been pro-abortion, so he apparently didn't have any problem hanging out with him until the Planned Parenthood thing happened. And Obama didn't even say what Birk thought he said.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a story when it's a political thing. There were four other Ravens players who also didn't go: three of them are now playing for other teams and were involved in workouts, and one was let go by the Ravens at the end of the season so he didn't go as an ego thing.
IIRC, there was a hockey player on the Stanley Cup winning team who didn't go last year because Obama was "pro-big-government", or something like that. Players have always used this platform to make their political points.