I always find it odd when I see someone who isn’t old, rich and white latch onto conservative political causes.
Of course, there’s a certain theory that sums things up nicely — you’re only a Democrat until you start making a lot of money, unless you live in California.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case here because this isn’t about taxes. Green Bay Packers defensive end Ryan Pickett isn’t just a Republican, he’s ultra-conservative.
He’s a member of the morality police.
Not exactly what you’d expect of a large black man from Florida. Ryan Pickett is not your average large black man from Florida, though.
Back in January, it was revealed that Pickett sits on the board of directors of xxxchurch.com, an anti-porn organization that annually broadcasts their smut-is-bad message to hundreds of churches around the country.
While I completely disagree that porn, and by association, sex, is bad for anyone, I also believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, so I didn’t really think much about Pickett’s involvement with the organization.
That changed when I received an email a couple weeks ago.
The message itself was innocuous — we’re looking for a photo of Ryan Pickett for a pamphlet we’re producing and we were wondering if we could use the one on your website.
I thought about the request for a little bit because I thought it might be good publicity, even if it was on a small scale. Then I decided to look up the website of the individual I received the email from — wrtl.org.
Turns out said organization is an anti-abortion organization. Not only that, but they’re anti-stem cell research, anti-Planned Parenthood and so forth.
Obviously, I didn’t want our name attached to something as potentially inflammatory as that. We like to state opinion and don’t mind ruffling feathers, but we’re not in the business of telling women what to do with their bodies.
Ryan Pickett, on the other hand, is.
The reason WRTL, which stands for Wisconsin Right to Life, wanted Pickett’s photo is because there was a story about him in their pamphlet. As it turns out, Pickett isn’t just against porn, but he’s also an anti-abortion spokesman.
While there are a lot of things I’d like to say about a man being an anti-abortion spokesman, I’m going to leave it alone.
Although, it kind of reminds me of when Reggie White called homosexuality a sin or when he outed himself as a racist in front of the Wisconsin State Legislature.
As for Pickett, I suspect he’s just a product of his environment.
It must give you a great perspective on the rest world growing up in a rich suburb of Tampa where 90 percent of the population is white.
I don’t usually comment on posts here but I find this one very biased and not at all a productive post about the packers. Your comment about only rich whites being conservative is frankly racist and shows a very narrow view of the world. You should be praising pickett for standing up for his morals, something lacking in the world today rather than making uninformed generalitities. you say you are not in favor of telling women what to do with their bodies, well some are not in favor of forcing others to subsidize an act they find atrocious. I would suggest you stick to writing about the packers and not injecting your partisan politics onto an issue that should not even be political let alone on a blog about the packers. You are entitled to your opinion but I believe there is a time and a place and this isn’t it.
PS keep up the good work on the packers related posts
But it IS about the Packers or at least a PACKER. And this is a blog – wall to wall with opinions and subjective posts. Monty is not obligated to provide bland objective “just the facts” journalism. Save that for dying newspaper. Just as Pickett is entitled to his opinion, Total Packers can express their own or at least discuss Pickett’s beliefs. And before you say that it’s a violation of Pickett’s privacy, remember that he is making his beliefs public and using his clout and celebrity as a PACKER to further those beliefs. Doesn’t matter what side he’s on or what cause he is championing, if a pro athlete chooses to exploit their own celebrity for a cause, some scrutiny can be expected.
Just because you don’t agree with Monty doesn’t mean that it’s “not the time or place”. You say that he shouldn’t be injecting partisan politics shortly after saying that he should be praising Pickett instead. Wouldn’t that be partisan politics? Is it only partisan politics if someone is saying something you don’t agree with. I find your post very confusing and very disappointing.
+1
First, I said nothing about violating Pickett’s privacy, I don’t know where that came from. Second, how can you say Pickett is ‘exploiting’ his celebrity? Maybe he would be doing the same even if he wasn’t a pro football player, it seems premature to claim he is ‘exploiting’ his position. Third, I said he should be praising Pickett for standing up for his morals, that does not necessarily mean he should promote or discredit those morals and is in no way partisan. Hey look I have nothing against porn but if Pickett feels strongly against it he should be praised for standing up for what he believes in. What I found upsetting was Monty’s multiple generalities and speculation that didn’t really add to the discussion. I stand by my first post.
i second that john
ugh.. man we all need the lockout to end….. badly.
Actually, though this isn’t the forum, I would vote for MORE politics. It is always a good way to get people talking.
We need to invent a drinking game. Every time someone calls a post “biased” we all take a drink. For once and for all, YES, this site is very “biased.” Maybe if we changed the name to TotallyBiasedPackers.com people would effin get it. It is biased towards ALL things. It is objective towards NOTHING.
90% of registered black voters voted for Obama in the 2008 election. Saying it is unusual for a black man to be ultra-conservative is not racist; it is statistical fact. God bless him though.
I am mostly ambivalent about abortion, being Pro Choice if I had to pick a side, but I do find most of the standard Pro Choice arguments hilarious. After all, no one is trying to tell a woman what to do with their body, but rather what they can or can not do to the body of the BABY inside of them.
I would be hypocritical if I was anti-porn, but I do look at it as similar to drinking and gambling. I partake, yes, and I see no harm in its moderate use, in fact, there might even be some benefit. However, it is an addictive habit that can affect your subconscious in ways you don’t even realize. Personally, I cringe at the thought of the internet being available to me before I turned 18. Having two young sons, this is an issue that has immediate impact in my household.
Reggie White, God bless his soul, was a minister, and as such, would be expected to consider homosexuality a sin if the church he represented believed likewise. The presence of sin does not make one evil. It makes one human. But don’t expect a minister to preach otherwise. His embarrassing comments afterwards were rife with stereotypical assertions and ignorance. Others may associate that with racism, especially if he were white, but I do not. I associate it with a well-meaning man with some stupid ideas who would have been best served keeping his mouth shut- i.e. Rashard Mendenhall.
Was it Asians or Mexicans he applauded for their ability to fit 18 people in one house? I forget.
Lastly, I also always get a good laugh when being rich is associated with being conservative. The members of the Tea Party, people may have noticed, are not rich. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and George Soros are HUGE contributors to the DNP. And of course, most of our actors and entertainers are liberal. In other words, those who most easily came into their money are the likeliest to not mind giving it away.
Good for Ryan Pickett.
Though I do believe Pickett would BEST serve as a guide to the buffet table.
re: Asians or Mexicans
it was Mexicans
New Yorkers are pretty much democrats as well…
Boring!
One need not be old, rich, or white to have conservative beliefs. You would be surprised how many folks of all walks of life and political view may agree with some of Pickett’s views and applaud his speaking up for his beliefs.
As a black man, perhaps he is more aware that abortion is considered by some to be genocide on the black community. Did you know the abortion ratio for black women (472 per 1,000 live births) was 2.9 times higher than the ratio for white women (161 per 1,000). Translation, nearly half of all pregnancies among black women end in abortion while just 16 percent of pregnancies among while women end in abortion.
To state “It must give you a great perspective on the rest world growing up in a rich suburb of Tampa where 90 percent of the population is white.” is rather simplistic and judgemental.
The Packers say they want men of good character and they mean it. Here is a man who stands up and speaks out for what he believes even if it may not be a popular or “PC” stand. Good job Ryan!
Really? He caught white person cooties in Tampa and now he is socially conservative? No other explanation to a black man being socially conservative? You ignorant jerk- It just might be possible he is anti-abortion because he thinks life starts at conception and he believes a women doesn’t have a right to end another human life no matter how inconvenient that life may be at the moment.
Oh Lord, Monty!!
You’re right.
The nerve of someone being against killing an innocent child.
Talk about inflammatory, right bud?
The nerve of someone to think a defenseless child has the right to live!!
You tell em, Monty.
“It must give you a great perspective on the rest world growing up in a rich suburb of Tampa where 90 percent of the population is white.”
You tell them, Monty!
It’s only rich people in suburbs who think it’s wrong to kill an innocent, defenseless child.
Monty, if you don’t have a fundamental right to even be born when you’ve been conceived you have no rights to even speak of.
You think privacy, personal dignity, free speech are actual rights if you never even had the right to live when you were at your most defenseless? You’re out of your mind.
When is the last time Ryan Pickett got pregnant? Oh that’s right, he can’t. He should shut his fat mouth about other people’s business and play championship football.
To be honest he looks perpetually pregnant. I wish Montey would shut up about politics. The only time he brings it up is to complain about someone who doesn’t think like he does. I personally love porn and think abortion is sadly essential for our society today but to criticize someone for not seeing it that way is childish. Stick to football Montey. When you talk politics you come off as condescending and ignorant at the same time.
Mike – “other people’s business”? I guess that would be true if you place no value on that life. Pickett and millions of other Americans do believe that unborn children have the same value as any other human life and should be protected from people who want to kill that human life because it is inconvenient. More power to him for speaking up for the unborn regardless of his profession or “fat mouth”.
Guess what…Donald Drive supports Wisconsin Right to Life too!! (Pause to listen for the sound of Monty’s head exploding and his sterotype shrapnel flying through the air!)
Was I really stereotyping or was I making a point? I suspect you’re smarter than your comment.