Lenny Palumbo is an outmoded homophobe
In spite of this, the league is determined to reduce fighting as much as possible. Meanwhile, the NHL’s abominable, "You Can Play" promotion, which all but endorses homosexuality in hockey, is among its top priorities.
Thanks to Gary Bettman and his ilk, enforcers are out, but gays are in. So why don’t they just hire Elton John as commissioner and be done with it?
Fortunately for Sabres fans, the team has not come out of the closet and the signing of tough guy, John Scott is an indication there might be some shred of manliness left in an otherwise emasculated organization that has much to prove in 2012-13.
What sort of tripe is this? Mr. Palumbo rambles on for several paragraphs making strawman arguments to try and convince us that the NHL is actively seeking to eliminate fighting from the game (except that they're not), and then ends with a homophobic rant against the You Can Play Project, a LGBT rights group that isn't run by the NHL? Only in the disillusioned mind of Lenny Palumbo could the acceptance of gays hockey and the strawman argument that the NHL wants to ban fighting be seen as two non-mutually exclusive things. One simply has nothing to do with the other. Unless of course you're a cro-magnon like Mr. Palumbo who apparently believes that all homosexuals are soft, weak players. In Lenny Palumbo's mind, there's no chance a tough fighter like John Scott could be a homosexual and vice versa. What a completely disillusioned, ignorant, and bigoted view to have in today's day and age.
(More after the jump)
Lenny Palumbo and his ilk are outmoded; they've already lost. Acceptance is coming to the world of sports. The athletes, agents, managers, coaches, and unbigoted fans are on board with such a change; not because there's some hidden agenda like a want to eliminate fighting (Side Note: One of fighting's biggest proponents in the NHL is Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke. The premature death of his son Brendan, a homosexual, is what sparked the You Can Play Project which is run by Brendan's older brother Patrick who himself is a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.), but because it's simply the right thing to do.
History has proven that tolerance and acceptance will always win out; be it race, gender, nationality, or now, sexual orientation. History has also shown us that bigots like Lenny Palumbo will always hold on to their ignorant views for as long as possible, even well after the change they fought so hard against has been made (Simply look at the racial tensions that still exist in the American Southeast, or the anti-feminism movements still going on.). Just as today we look back at things like white only bathrooms and shake our heads in disgust at our parents for being so narrow minded, so too will our children look back at people like Lenny Palumbo.
Perhaps the Niagara Falls Reporter doesn't want to be left behind with this coming. If so, then it would be in your best interest to part ways with people like Lenny Palumbo who will only serve to keep your publication firmly rooted in the past with the rest of the bigots, homophobes, and ignorant masses.
The right thing to do is clearly evident, the question is are you decent enough to do what should be done?
Sincerely,
SkinnyFish (Spoiler: Not my actual name)
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If you want to write into the Niagara Falls Reporter as I did with the letter above, then you can email them at:
Publisher: Frank Parlato Jr.
Editor in Chief: Mike Hudson
Managing Editor: Dr. Chitra Selvaraj
Senior Editor: Tony Farina
Contributors: Lenny Palumbo, Glenn Gramigna, James Hufnagel
Marketing Director: Michelle Reeb