Of everything I’ve read surrounding Jason Collins, the NBA center who came out publicly as gay Monday, this column by The Chicago Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom is by far the most disgraceful piece of yellow journalism I’ve come across yet. Nothing blossoms the left’s fascist streak faster than their own sense of puffed up sanctimony, and it is pretty obvious Collins’s decision to come out has Rosenbloom puffed up in nine different ways.
In a Tuesday column, Rosenbloom publicly “outed” Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs for having the gall to not express an opinion on the Collins episode. Apparently, a number of Briggs’ Twitter followers peppered the football player on the issue and in response Briggs (or whoever handles his Twitter feed) responded with non-responses such as, “How about those Bulls!!”
Obviously, Briggs’ unwillingness to express a personal opinion outraged Rosenbloom to no end. The writer not only took to Twitter to badger Briggs for an explanation and devoted a column to his non-answer, but Rosenbloom also decided to publicly declare that there can be only two ways to explain the football star’s truculent silence:
One, Briggs might be offering a meta-message meant to say that a player’s sexuality is not an issue.
Or two, Briggs might be a homophobe and intolerant.
One wonders why Rosenbloom is so subtle, when we all know what he really means: It is time for the villagers to come together, capture Briggs, tie him to a chair, and dunk the suspect in water. If he floats, he is guilty; if he drowns, he is innocent.
But Rosenbloom is so flush with his own McCarthyism, he doesn’t stop there. He takes it a step further to pressure Briggs’ employer, the Chicago Bears, to demand a public explanation:
The Bears should encourage Briggs to explain, lest they get cast as clinging to intolerant beliefs as useless as a Lamborghini cracked up on the side of the Edens. A Bears source said Briggs’ Twitter account is ghostwritten some of the time (maybe that’s who deleted those tweets), but the source told me the team, trying since Monday, has not been able to reach Briggs for an explanation.
This is the left’s America, folks, where your vote is no longer sacred and private.
Citizen, it is no longer enough to stay politely silent!
Citizen, it is no longer enough to keep your opinions to yourself!
Citizen, it is no longer enough to choose to stay out of it!
(Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to mix my metaphors…)
No, Citizen, you must either tell us where you stand or face The Wrath of Rosenbloom and the Chicago Tribune in Room 101…
Where they will abuse their media power to paint you with a scarlet “H.”
Unless, of course, you do the right thing and … agree with them.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC